


Train to Uzushiogakure

by oldfashionedloverboy



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Attempt at Humor, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Fluff, Gen, POV Multiple, Rule 63, Slight OOC, Strong Female Characters, Zombie Apocalypse, spoiler but NO ONE DIES
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:48:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25904611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oldfashionedloverboy/pseuds/oldfashionedloverboy
Summary: Tsukiko had just wanted for her dad, Shikamaru, to take her to see her mom. She never expected that a zombie apocalypse would happen on their way there!
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Rock Lee, Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s), Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Nara Shikamaru & Original Character(s), Nara Shikamaru/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hellooooooooo
> 
> Sooo, this is a second re-write of a fic of mine that was written for a kpop group and then decided to repost it for bnah but since that one flopped, i decided to rewrite it for naruto (the bnha one is still up if you wanna read it).
> 
> this fic was also edited by a friend of mine from kakaotalk.
> 
> This is inspired by the Korean movie, Train to Busan, but has an alternate ending. 
> 
> Please reading the tags carefully before continuing on!
> 
> With that said, enjoy the show!

The pop song being played at the store blurred with the background noise present as Shikamaru gazed at the seemingly endless row of toys. Trying to decide on buying that special present for his daughter’s birthday tomorrow, he stared for approximately fifteen minutes. After a few moments, he finally decided on one that he was sure his daughter was going to love. 

Or, at least, he hoped she would.

Despite it being almost close to midnight, the lights in Shikamaru’s living room were still on when he returned home. Stepping inside, he was instantly greeted by his mother, Yoshina. “Shikamaru, it’s so late!” She chided, taking his briefcase. “Did you eat?” Her voice was laced with concern as she followed her son into the living room. 

“I did, mom.” He replied in a monochrome tone of voice, removing his tie. His eyes briefly glanced at his mother, who was making some onigiri for tomorrow’s breakfast.

“It better not be those greasy fast foods you keep ordering. It’s not good for your health!” She scolded, but Shikamaru noticed the lack of bite in her words. 

“I’m fine, mom.” Shikamaru reassured. He maneuvered towards his daughter’s room, standing outside the door to listen for any movement. Hearing his daughter’s hushed whispers, he sighed, glancing down at his watch. 12:10 a.m, she should’ve gone to bed hours ago.

He lightly knocked on the door before pushing it open, lips curled upwards in amusement at the scene before him. His daughter hid beneath her blanket, forming a small shaped lump on top of her bed. “Mommy, I have to go. I love you, bye!” He heard his daughter, Tsukiko, whisper hurriedly into her phone before poking her head out from underneath the blanket. Tsukiko watched her dad with a slight frown on her lips.

“It’s ok,” Shikamaru said as he made his way towards his daughter’s bed, “you can still talk to her.”

Tsukiko shook her head, her long black locks brushing his eyes, “She already hung up.” Her voice was quiet, which was unusual for his daughter, and Shikamaru frowned slightly. “Why can’t I go see mommy tomorrow?” She asked suddenly, looking up at her dad with wide azure eyes and a pout on her lips.

“Tsukiko, we’ve talked about this.” Shikamaru sighed, wrapping his arm around his daughter’s shoulders. He quickly noticed his daughter’s deepened frown, “I have work tomorrow so I can’t take you.”

“But you always have work!” Shikamaru was shocked to hear his daughter snap at him. “You always promise me things but you never do them because you’re busy!” Shikamaru winced, feeling guilty beneath Tsukiko’s shouted accusations. 

“Tsukiko-”

“Can’t I go see mommy alone?” His seven-year-old daughter pleaded, eyes widening. Tsukiko felt hopeful, even though she already knew what her dad would say.

“Tsukiko, it’s too dangerous.” Shikamaru muttered. Tsukiko looked away from him, clearly disappointed. Shikamaru brightened, as he remembered the present he bought for her. Sure it would ease the tension, he placed the wrapped gift on his daughter’s lap. 

“Happy birthday, Tsukiko.” Shikamaru smiled down at his daughter’s confused expression, waiting in anticipation for the black haired girl to open the wrapped box.

Tsukiko glanced at her dad, and seeing a nod of encouragement from the older man, she proceeded to unwrap the gift box.

It was a hoverboard.

Tsukiko felt her heart sink at the sight of the electric blue electronic board in her hand.

“You don’t like it?” Shikamaru asked once he noticed the crestfallen expression on his daughter’s face.

Tsukiko lifted her head and glanced at the corner of her room. Shikamaru’s gaze followed, shoulders instantly sagging in disappointment at the sight of a hoverboard next to the desk, an exact replica of the one on his daughter’s lap. 

“Tsukiko, I’m sorry.” Shikamaru sputtered, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

“Can I exchange it?” His daughter asked softly, eyes not looking away from the unopened box on her lap.

Shikamaru quickly nodded his head, “Of course, what do you want?”

“I want to go see mommy.” Tsukiko lifted her head and stared deeply into her father’s eyes, not willing to back down, “Tomorrow’s my birthday.”

Defeated, Shikamaru exhaled a deep sigh.

“You should talk to Naruto tomorrow,” Yoshino stated as she hung her son’s suit for the upcoming day, “reconcile with her and work things out.”

Shikamaru sighed through his nose, removing his jacket and unbuttoning the first few buttons of his white shirt. “I already told you, mom,” he hummed, “things are better this way.”

Shikamaru didn’t notice his mother’s lips pulling downwards at his words, nor did he see the sadness swimming in her eyes. “Divorce isn’t a good thing, Shika. Not for the parents, or the child. It’s going to be rough for Tsukiko.”

Shikamaru understood where his mother was coming from, he really did, but things didn’t work out between him and Naruto. Getting a divorce was the best solution for all of them. “It was better to get a divorce than to have Tsukiko see us yell at each other and try to understand how we’re no longer in love.” He said. 

Yoshino shook her head, taking a seat beside her son on his bed. “Promise me you’ll at least be friendly with her tomorrow,” she pleaded, “for Tsukiko’s sake.”

It was early, around four in the morning, when Shikamaru drove his expensive SUV to the train station in Konoha, Tsukiko buckled safely in the backseat. Just last night, he had phoned his boss at the company and told him that he is going to take the earliest train to Uzushiogakure to drop his daughter off at her mother’s. Then, he'd take the next departing train back to Konoha.

Thankfully, since he was one of the top employees, his boss allowed for his tardiness today. And with luck, Shikamaru was able to find a train to Uzushiogakure at six am and a train back to Konoha at 8:30. Since it was only a two-hour and twenty minute train ride with only thirty minutes in between, Shikamaru texted his ex-wife, Naruto, and told her about their schedule so that she could pick Tsukiko while Shikamaru made it to his next train. 

Tsukiko was currently on the phone with his ex-wife. “We’re on our way to the station now.” She spoke into her phone. Although she tried to sound neutral, Shikamaru could clearly hear the excitement in his daughter’s voice. “Yes, mommy. I charged my phone and ate breakfast.” Shikamaru chuckled as his daughter rolled her eyes. 

“How did you know?” Tsukiko gasped into the phone.

Knowing his ex-wife, she probably scolded Tsukiko for rolling her eyes. She knew her daughter too well. Shikamaru smirked.

“I love you too!”

“Any special plans with your mommy?” Shikamaru asked as he stopped his car at the traffic light, no car in sight as they waited for the green light.

Tsukiko shrugged. “She won’t tell me,” She replied, “She said it was a surprise.”

Before Shikamaru could answer, the sound of fire truck sirens filled the empty streets as they zoomed in front of them. Shikamaru was surprised by the speed of the truck as he stared after the red vehicle to where it was headed. He frowned at the burning floor on a tall building. “May God help them.” He hummed.

Once they’ve boarded the train at around a quarter to six, the sun was out and the sky was clear. Shikamaru held onto Tsukiko’s hand tightly as the child led them down the isles to their seats in the first class cabin.

“Here.” Tsukiko pointed at seat 2-A.

As soon as Shikamaru placed his suitcase on the compartment above and took a seat on the comfy blue chairs, his eyes closed and he found himself in a deep sleep. Working at a demanding company took its toll on him. He barely got four hours of sleep for work. Deciding to take his daughter to Uzushiogakure as early as possible turned those four hours into two hours. Taking a nap during the two-hour train ride should surely make up for lost time.

Tsukiko sighed at her father’s sleeping form. With one last glance, she turned his head and looked out the window. She watched the people passing by outside as she waited for the train to start its journey. 

Just as the train started moving, she saw the strangest thing: one of the ushers of the train was tackled by a large man. Tsukiko lifted her head to get a better view, but she was too short; the train was already ahead of the fallen men. She turned to her dad to tell him what she had just witnessed only to frown at her dad’s still sleeping form.

It was about twenty minutes into the ride when Tsukiko got up from her seat, stepping over her dad’s stretched out legs to head to the bathroom.

Her eyes observed a man near the sliding doors who had a scowl on his lips as he informed the stewardess about a strange passenger who was hiding in the bathroom. The woman looked a bit frightened before she plastered an apologetic smile and followed the man to the bathroom, Tsukiko not far behind.

The little girl held his breath in anticipation, not sure of what to expect behind the bathroom door.

After three knocks, the man and stewardess shared a look before she pulled the door open. Tsukiko’s shoulders tensed for one second before they fell in disappointment at the sight of a homeless man who kept muttering about people being dead.

“Hey, kid.” Tsukiko looked up at the large man with greying hair, “If you don’t stay in school you’ll end up like him.” He sneered at the homeless man.

Tsukiko stole a brief glance at the trembling man, “My mommy said that people who say stuff like that aren’t good people.” She grumbled, staring at the man.

Apparently, what she said must have been amusing to the man for he chuckled at her. “You’re mommy mustn’t have been very good in school, but I’m sure she was a looker.” was the last thing he said to her before walking away.

Sticking her tongue out at the man, Tsukiko began her search for an empty bathroom she could use because she really needed to pee. Luckily, she found one at the next cart. Relieved, she raised her hand to knock on the door before a hand firmly grabbed her wrist and pulled it back.

Surprised, Tsukiko looked up at the owner of the hand. He was tall, as tall as her dad (if not taller), with a well-built frame and mischievous eyes. His hair was black and cut into an ugly bowl cut, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you kid.” The man said, crossing his arms.

Tsukiko looked curiously at the door. Could there be another homeless man?

“She’s currently turning into a monster.” The man brought his hands up and wiggled them at Tsukiko.

The girl jumped at the sudden slam on the door, stepping away from it in fear. “I’m kidding, babe.” The man said gently to the door.

Not wanting to be on the receiving end of whoever’s behind that door, Tsukiko went further ahead to find a bathroom.

As Tsukiko continued on with his search for a vacant bathroom, one of the doors of the train’s carts slid open to reveal a cart full of high school students dressed in their school sport uniform.

“It’s Tenten!” one of the student athletes claimed, eyes never leaving the popular student who made her way down the aisle and plop onto one of the seats next to a frowning faced student.

“Good morning, Neji!” Tenten smiled cheerfully at the frowning student, Neji, next to her.

Neji said nothing as he dragged his pale eyes to the window and watched the blurring buildings. Suddenly, he felt one of his earbuds being pulled away and he turned to watch just as Tenten inserted it in her ear.

Annoyed, he snatched the earbud back. “What are you doing here?” he grumbled, “you’re not even an athlete!”

Tenten playfully pouted at Neji, “I’m here as your cheerleader.” The smile on her lips made Neji groan in annoyance. “I’m here to motivate you as the prettiest student in school,  _ Prodige _ .” Neji’s ears turned red at the use of his french nickname, Prodige, that his classmates came up with for his insane talent in sports and for being the number one one student in their year.

Their classmates oh-ed at the two as they made teasing remarks about the two, a whistle or two could be heard as they chanted, “Fall in love! Fall in love!”

Neji lowered his baseball cap and slid further down into his seat, ignoring the chants and the smiling Tenten next to him.

Things quickly settled down afterwards and Neji was glad for the moment of silence as he watched outside the window. The music he was listening to with Tenten was calming, matching the scenery outside. At one point, he felt Tenten slide her hand into his and hold it gently.

Normally, Neji would pull away at the annoying clinginess from his classmate but today, Neji kept his hand there. Maybe a small smile was on his lips at the warmth radiating from Tenten’s hand.

Suddenly, the cabin door slid open causing the students to jump in their place.

Neji lifted his head towards the door and was baffled to see one of the stewards limping her way with a disheveled looking woman on her back. His arm shot out across Tenten once the stewardess fell flat on her stomach, his face scrunched up at the sound of soft growls.

Neji’s pale eyes widened when the disheveled looking woman snapped her head up and instantly stood in front of Tenten as she screamed and attacked one of their classmates.

“What the fuck?!”

Soon, screams broke out into the room and Neji tried his best to make sure that Tente was safe, even if it cost him his life.

Shikamaru suddenly jolted awake. He brought his hand to wipe away the drool on his chin as he looked around his surroundings, trying to remember what he was doing. Once he remembered where he was, he looked at the seat next to him and was alarmed to see that Tsukiko was missing.

Shikamaru didn’t know why, but something within him urged him to look for his daughter because something bad had happened. Instantly, the long haired man brushed that thought away but as the seconds ticked by, he began to feel a bit agitated.

He looked for Tsukiko everywhere, checking each unoccupied seat and vacant bathroom along the way. Shikamaru could feel his heart palpitating in anxiety despite his calm outward appearance. He knew that nothing had happened but the world is a scary place, and unfortunately, Shikamaru had seen a lot of documentaries on missing children to know when things were starting to go downhill.

Shikamaru had just reached the bathroom located two carts away from theirs when a man rushed beside him, screaming “Run! Run!” At the top of his lungs.

Curious, Shikamaru looked at the direction of where the man came from but he could only see a group of people on their feet.

As if on autopilot, Shikamaru’s feet led him to the group of people, curiosity getting the best of him.

Tsukiko was in the process of drying her hands when she heard a loud commotion outside. Curious, she opened the door and stepped outside. She was surprised to see people running as they screamed in fright. Like her father, she looked at the direction they were coming from but couldn’t see much due to her short height.

As more people ran, the group diminished and Tsukiko instantly spotted her father walking between the freighted group of people.

A loud growl sounded out through the cabin in front of her and Tsukiko jumped in fright. She felt her heart stop at the sight of the steward covered in blood with broken limbs. The stewardess growled once more and began to run.

“Daddy!”

As if snapped out of a trance, Shikamaru turned around and saw Tsukiko in the distance. On instinct, he ran towards his daughter, picked her up and ran as far away as he could from the strange man behind them.

Tsukiko’s heart beat rapidly as she watched in horror at the great speed those scary looking people with blood dripping down their chin ran in. Her father was running as fast as he could and Tsukiko prayed that they could get away from those monsters.

Rock Lee was still waiting outside of the bathroom when he spotted the hoards of people running by him and into the car on his left. Senses on alert, he urgently tapped the bathroom door

“Honey?” He called out in concern, “I think you should hurry u-”

The door was pushed upon before he could finish his sentence.

“You can’t let someone vomit in peace? You know how sick I get in the morning.” A pregnant woman with pink hair and tealish-green eyes complained as she dried her hands with tissues.

Lee didn’t get the chance to apologize as more people ran between them. They both looked to their right and were surprised to see a man attached to one of the passengers and was…biting his neck?

Without thinking, Lee pushed his wife behind him, far away from whatever that thing was on the ground before them.

“What are you doing?” Lee felt his wife punch his shoulder, “Go help him!” 

Casting an annoyed look that masked his fear at his wife, Lee stepped towards the men on the ground. “Hey, you ok there, buddy?”

Lee was about to touch one of the men to separate them when the one on top snapped his head upwards and growled. Lee gasped at the man who had blood across his face and pale colored irises. He didn’t have time to react as the man pushed at his arm and aimed for his neck.

As Lee fought off the man, Shikamru sidestepped around them and hurriedly made his way to the next car, hands wrapped around Tsukiko protectively.

Once they were safe, he gently placed Tsukiko on the nearest seat and watched as the tall man fought off whatever it was he was fighting.

“Honey,” Lee called out at the frightened woman behind him, “Run!”

Scared, his wife stood in her place.

“Now!”

At Lee’s booming voice, she stood up straight and made a run for it. Praying that Lee would catch up unharmed.

Things seemed to be playing out in slow-motion for Tsukiko. The man she recognized from earlier who stopped her from knocking on the bathroom door was fighting off one of those monsters as the woman with him ran.

Tsukiko watched in great anticipation. She worried his lower lip with her teeth and she almost screamed in shock as the woman tripped and fell with her hand stretched outwards to protect her unborn child just a few feet away from the door. The woman tried to stand up but she let out a yell in pain.

“Close the door!” Tsukiko sharply turned her head and saw the mean man from earlier yell at her father. She hoped that her father would wait for the two men but he unfortunately didn’t and closed the door.

“Lock it!”

The man was controlling Tsukiko’s dad like a puppet and Tsukiko didn’t like it one bit.

Shikamaru fumbled with the safety lock above the door, ignoring the pang of guilt as the fallen pregnant woman begged for help.

Cursing at the commotion behind him, Lee gave one strong punch at the man’s nose and made his way to his wife and picked her up, making a run for it to the door.

“Open the door!” Lee watched as the man fumbled with the lock and heard the monster behind him growl close by and picked up his speed, slamming his shoulder first into the door.

“Daddy, I know them!” Lee heard a child’s voice scream.

And on command, the door was quickly slid open and shut.

Lee gently placed his wife down before turning to help the man with the lock. “I don’t think they know how to open the door.” He heard the tall man next to him say.

“What?” He snapped as his sweaty hands tried to switch the lock. But the man didn’t say anything so Lee sighed heavily through his nose before stepping away from the door.

And true to the stranger’s words, the monsters didn’t open the door.

“They can still see us!” A panicked woman from further behind screamed.

Lee was surprised to see his wife snatch a bottle of water from the ground, spray it on the door and rip pages from a magazine before sticking them on the transparent door.

Instantly, the growling and pounding stopped and a silent exhale of relief filled the room.

Once Lee made sure that his wife and baby weren’t too badly injured, he turned to face the tall man who was running his fingers through his daughter’s hair. Lee recognized the girl from earlier and almost felt guilty for what he was about to do.

“Hey, buddy!” His deep voice silenced everyone in the cart as he pulled at the man’s shoulder.

“What is it?”

The nerve of this guy.

Lee refrained from cursing in front of the small girl, “Don’t you have something to say to us?”

Lee almost snorted as the man puffed out his chest, “What do you mean?”

“This asshole.” Lee muttered, hoping the girl didn’t hear him, “You closed the door on my pregnant wife who was injured and begging for her life! You owe us an apology.”

“You weren’t the only ones in danger!”

Lee saw red. He quickly lifted his hand to punch the ever living fuck out of this pretentious man when he felt his wife pulling his arm back, “He isn’t worth it. Lee, stop!”

Lee glared at the man down before lowering his hand and turning his attention to his wife, “I’m ok, Sakura.”

“Attention passengers,” The sudden animatronic voice of a man broke through the silence, making everyone look up to where the speakers were located, “Due to our current situation, we won’t be stopping in Sunagakure.” The people began to panic, ignoring what the conductor was saying next, “For your safety, please stay in your seats.”

Tsukiko watched as the people broke out in panic and loudly murmured amongst themselves.

“Tsukiko,” The little girl turned to her father, “Are you ok?” at her dad’s concerned look, she nodded and gave him a reassuring smile.

Shikamaru sighed in relief and protectively wrapped his arms around Tsukiko, his fingers running through his daughter’s soft locks.

“I’m really sorry,” Tsukiko pulled away from her father for a bit and watched the other tall man with the bowl cut from earlier, “But can you please give your seat to her? She’s pregnant and I think she twisted her ankle.”

The woman nodded and stood up for the injured woman to take.

Once Shikamaru was satisfied that his daughter was unharmed, he fished out his phone from his back pocket and called the first person that he thought of.

“I’m sorry, the person you are calling is out of the coverage area. Please try again later.” Shikamaru cursed under his breath while calling his ex-wife, Naruto, only for him not to get through.

He then called his mother and was glad when she picked up the call, “Mom,”

“Shikamaru.”

Shikamaru frowned at his mother’s raspy voice, “Yes, mom?”

“Shikamaru, are you both on your way there?”

Shikamaru swallowed thickly. It sounded like his mother was in a lot of pain while speaking, “Yes, we’re on our way there now.” He replied.

“Mom, why are you breathing like that? Are you hurt anywhere?” Shikamaru didn’t mean to fire questions at his mother, especially when she was obviously in pain, but it was a nervous habit he picked up from his ex-wife, Naruto.

“Are you and Tsukiko okay?” She asked instead.

Shikmaru glanced at his daughter who was watching the couple in front of her, “My dear Shikamaru…” His mother coughed loudly and Shikamaru’s frown deepened in concern, “My love, please take care Tsukiko…” she coughed louder, “Please protect Tsukiko and Naruto…they’re your family.”

Shikamaru could feel tears building up, blinding his line of vision, “Mom.” He whimpered.

“I love Tsukiko so much but she only wants her mommy.” At this point, Tsukiko had looked away from the couple and up at her dad’s concerned face.

“Those bastards…” Shikamaru was surprised to hear his mother curse, something she rarely did, before her words died out and were replaced by growls. His eyes widened in recognition at the familiar growls. They’re the same one as the one on the train. His throat tightened as the line disconnected.

“Daddy?” Tsukiko called softly, “Is grandma okay?”

Not wanting to frighten or concern his daughter, Shikamaru quickly masked his expression and opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted as the train came to a sudden jerk.

“Tsukiko, sit down.” Shikamaru instructed as he gently pushed Tsukiko into an empty seat and stood up to stare out of the window and see what was going on.

Tsukiko turned her attention away from her father and glanced out the window as well. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary and Tsukiko was beginning to think that maybe the train had run over something when out of nowhere, a man slammed his body onto the slowly moving train.

Tsukiko watched with her heart in her throat as the man banged on the window begging to be let on board. The little girl inched away in fear and bumped into her father’s arms who lifted them up and placed them in front of her, arms wrapped across her shoulders.

Soon, more people swarmed the train and the passengers jumped off of their seats in fear as they slammed and banged against the windows.

Shikamaru watched in horror as a hoard of those monsters attacked the scared people outside like a large tsunami wave and tore apart their limbs. 

Realizing that Tsukiko was with him as she grabbed onto his hands tightly, he spun her around and hid her from the view outside. He rubbed his hand up and down his daughter’s back to distract and calm her down.

Tsukiko and Shikamaru were currently in line following people to another car to stay as far away from the monsters. Or as the media outlets called them, Zombies.

The message from the Hokage could be heard all over the train as he urged everyone to stay safe and not listen to rumors.

Shikamaru felt a tug on his arm and looked down to see Tsukiko’s concerned gaze, “Mommy’s phone is turned off.”

Damn. He was hoping that Tsukiko wouldn’t call Naruto and worry over her but there was nothing he could do now.

“Tsukiko, sit here for a bit.” Shikamaru pulled Tsukiko towards the chairs reserved for the stewardesses for when they were tired.

“Don’t worry, I’ll call her.” He smiled down at his daughter as an idea formulated in his head.

Tsukiko wanted to call out on her dad’s obvious lie but two old ladies had stepped into the small space and searched for seats. One of the elderly women pulled the chairs and urged for her older sister to take a seat.

Seeing this, Tsukiko stood up from her seat and went to the elderly woman, “Excuse me,” she called out politely and grabbed onto the standing woman’s hand, “You can take my seat here.” She said before leading her to her seat.

The old woman smiled in delight, “Such a well behaved little girl.” She rummaged through her purse and pulled out a piece of candy before placing it onto Tsukiko’s hand.

Shikamaru sighed in displeasure at the interaction before pulling Tsukiko away after she bowed to the woman.

Once he was out of sight of the two elderly women, Shikamaru stood in the hallway of the bathrooms. Ignoring the man who threatened to punch him earlier and kneeled down to his daughter.

“Tsukiko, you didn’t have to do that.”

Tsukiko frowned in confusion at her father’s words, “Do what?”

Her father seemed shaken up. Sweat formed on his forehead and his eyes shifted every once in a while. Her dad also spoke faster than usual, something Tsukiko had never seen from her dad.

“Being good.”

Tsukiko’s heart sank in disappointment.

“At times like these, you need to only watch yourself.” Shikamaru stressed as he pushed back Tsukiko’s long strands of hair back.

“Answer me.”

Tsukiko looked down in disappointment before she replied, “Grandma always had bad knee aches.”

“Tsukiko.” Shikamaru sighed at his daughter’s kindness. Now was not the time for her to be kind. Especially when people aren’t as kind as his daughter.

“Attention passengers,” They all looked up at the speakers, “Our train will conclude services at Nikkō Inn Town Station.”

Breathing harshly through his nose in frustration, Shikamaru stood up.

“Military is deployed there and will secure our train. On arrival at Nikkō Inn Town station, please exit the train in an orderly fashion. I repeat…”

Lee shared looks of concern with his wife. He clicked his tongue at the announcement, not sure of what would happen to them once they arrived at Nikkō Inn Town.

Both Shikamaru and Lee heard a man talking frantically into his phone asking about which cities were safe. It only fueled Shikamaru to carry out his plan and he quickly unshouldered his daughter’s fox shaped backpack and handed it to her, “Tsukiko, stay here for a bit.” Shikamaru walked away from her without waiting for her response.

“Hey, little girl?” Tsukiko looked up at the owner of a deep voice and was glad to see the couple from earlier.

“Yes?”

Lee stared at the kid again before glancing at the man who was in the other car on the phone, “Who is he? Your dad?”

The little kid nodded her head.

“Your real dad?” Lee hissed in pain as his wife pinched his side, grumbling under his breath about constantly being pinched.

“Yes.”

“What does he do?” Lee continued to ask.

“He’s a fund manager.” Tsukiko replied but didn’t understand the two’s reactions.

“He’s a bloodsucker.” The one with the bowl cut stated which earned him a slap from the one with pink hair next to him.

“Don’t say that in front of the kid.” The woman chided.

“What? It’s true!”

The pregnant woman with the twisted ankle rolled her eyes before staring down at Tsukiko, “What’s your name?” She asked with a polite smile.

“Dad told me not to talk to strangers.”

The woman in front of her cooed as the taller one snorted, “Your father taught you right. But we’ve been on the train for a while and we both helped each other out from those scary monsters.”

Contemplating the man’s words, Tsukiko thought it would be safe to give them at least her first name, “I’m Tsukiko!” she smiled brightly at them.

The woman in front of him cooed once more, “I’m Sakura.”

Tsukiko tested the name and flashed a bright smile once she got it right.

Sakura chuckled at her cuteness, “It’s ok, you can call me Sakura nee-chan.”

“Really?”

Sakura nodded her head, “Of course! We’re friends now.” She winked down at the girl.

“And  _ this _ neanderthal,” She pointed her head at the man standing next to her, “Is my husband Lee.”

Tsukiko looked up at the tall man who gave her a wave, “You’re the man who called Sakura nee-chan a monster ”

Lee’s eyes widened comically as he glanced nervously at his wife, “You heard that?” At Tsukiko nod, he skillfully dogged his wife’s hand that was about to smack him yet again. 

Sakura rolled her eyes while mumbling under her breath.

Tsukiko chuckled as the two playfully argued, something she had seen rarely when her parents were still married.

Sakura smiled at Tsukiko before pulling out a bag of gummy worms and pulled out a blue one and gave it to Tsukiko.

“This is Sleepy’s favorite.” Sakura explained as she popped a bright green gummy worm into her mouth.

Tsukiko stared at her in confusion, “Who is Sleepy?”

Sakura smiled brightly as she pointed at her stomach, “My baby!” She said proudly.

But Tsukiko’s confusion further deepened as she asked, “You named your baby Sleepy?” 

Sakura chuckled in mirth before shaking her hair, short pink strands falling across her eyes, “No. It’s just a nickname I chose because  _ someone _ ,” She then glared accusingly at her husband, “Was too lazy to help me pick out an appropriate name for our daughter.”

“Hey, I’m not lazy!” Lee retorted which only made Sakura snort at her husband.

“Wanna see something cool?” Sakura then asked, her eyes twinkling in excitement.

Mirroring her expression, Tsukiko eagerly nodded her head and allowed for Sakura to hold her hand and pull it towards her belly, resting her tiny hand on it.

Tsukiko waited with bated breath in anticipation and when she felt a sudden bump, she jumped in surprise. 

“You felt it right?” Sakura’s expression was so bright that Tsukiko mistook her for the stars she’d often see at night. Tsukiko nodded her head in reply.

“Yeah, I made that cool baby.” Lee randomly butted in with a yellow gummy worm between his teeth. His wife stared at him with a deadpan expression.

“What? It’s true!”

Tsukiko laughed at the two, a false image displaying in her mind that  _ they _ were her parents and not her current biological and divorced parents.

Sakura could feel warmth bubbling inside of her as he heard Tsukiko’s laugh. She had always wanted a child of her own for as long as she could remember and she hoped that her unborn daughter would be a child filled with joy. Joy she didn’t have the privilege of while growing up. 

Sakura felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She looked up at Lee who was smiling down at her, as if she knew what was going through her head.

“Everything’s going to be okay.” Lee’s voice is soft. Almost a whisper.

She could feel a smile growing despite her anxieties. This is why Sakura loves Lee. Her husband always seemed to know when she was troubled by something and he often has a way to ease her troubled mind. And if he didn’t, he’d make sure that Sakura wasn’t alone until she got over the thing that made her upset.

There were times when Sakura would yell and shout at Lee over the dumbest things ever but she never meant any of them. It’s just, sometimes, Sakura had issues with bottling up her emotions until she blew up. Luckily, Lee was patient with her and was there for her during the worst moments of her life, moments she wasn’t really proud of. Eventually, she managed to learn how to calm herself down enough where she could collect her thoughts and have a civil conversation about her emotions.

Sakura smiled as Lee rested his large hand on her belly. She placed her own hand on the bigger one and was pleased to feel her husband tighten his hold. “I’m by your side. Always.” Lee’s deep voice was comforting.

Shikamaru’s hand shook as he tapped on the contacts icon and scrolled through the list until I reached the name he was looking for.

It rang twice before the call was connected.

“Mr. Nara, you called me at a bad time.” Came the usually booming voice that was currently laced in panic.

“Wait, wait!” Shikamaru shouted, rushing his next words, “Captain Akimichi, let me ask you something.”

“What?” Though Shikamaru was sure that his longtime friend Captain Chouji Akimichi was being as polite as possible, he could still hear the irritation in his voice.

“I’m on KTX to Nikkō Inn Town . Is it true that the military is deployed there?” Shikamaru asked.

There was a slight hesitation on Chouji’s end before he replied, “Yes, that’s correct. Though, I shouldn't be telling you this.”

Chouji and Shikamaru were college roommates and have been friends for more than a decade now. In times of need, the two have always helped each other. Chouji was there for Shikamaru during his divorce with Naruto and Shikamaru was there when Chouji witnessed death for the first time. They have a strong bond.

“Is that so? It must be safe then.”

Chouji sighed through his nose, unsure how to answer his friend without causing him to freak-out, “Shikamaru, once you arrive there, you will be quarantined.”

Shikamaru could feel his heart skip a beat at his best friend’s words, “What?”

“I’m sorry, Shikamaru.”

“But, I’m with Tsukiko.”

There was a pause before Chouji spoke with seriousness, shouts could be heard in the background along with the distinct sounds of gunfire, Shikamaru’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, “Listen to me, Shikamaru. Don’t go to the main square, you hear me? Once you arrive in Nikkō Inn Town, exit to the east side. Got it?”

Shouta nodded his head before remembering that he was on the phone, “Got it.”

“I’ll let my men know.”

Shikamaru smiled in relief, his hand reaching to his forehead to wipe away the sweat. “Thank you, Chouji.”

“Stay safe.”

Nikkō Inn Town was eerily quiet. The town that was once loud and lively was as silent and creepy as the cemeteries.

A chill went down Neji's spine as he exited the train. His face shone with sweat and his baseball uniform was covered in splotches of blood.

He heard a thud next to him and glanced at Tenten, who looked to be shaken to the core as she stared down at her blood soaked hands. Neji’s lips twisted in sympathy so he offered her his hand to hold. Tenten glanced down before gently grabbing Neji’s hand, thankful for the kind gesture.

“Take this.” Neji instructed as he gave his classmate (and not so secret crush) his lucky bat.

“What about you?” Tenten asked with worry in her eyes.

Neji smiled at Tenten before leaning into their car, scanning the area for any stray zombies before hopping on and taking the nearest bat he could find.

“I have this.” He smiled at Tenten once he hopped down.

The popular student returned the smile before taking Neji’s hand again and followed as he led them towards the station.

Shikamaru didn’t let go of Tsukiko’s hand not once as they followed the group of people off the train and into the train station.

He could hear the tall guy, Lee he thinks his name was, struggling to carry his wife who kept on insisting that she was no damsel in distress.

“I can walk just fine, Lee.” Snapped the pink haired woman.

“I know, babe.” Lee groaned, “But you twisted your ankle and you’re pregnant. At least let me carry you until we find a place to sit down.”

Shikamaru silently cursed. Their loud voices would surely attract some unwanted people but then he reminded himself that Chouji had assured him that the place is safe. Picking up his pace, he followed two high school students onto the escalators.

Strangely enough, the station smelled of cleaning detergent. It gave Shikamaru an odd sense of comfort. That maybe everything’s alright and they are safe from those monsters locked up on the train.

A small smile grew on his lips as he watched the two students in front of him. The one with space buns on her head fretted over her long haired friend. Her fingers ran through her friend’s silky locks as if to tame it down after whatever hell they’ve been through. The scene reminded him of the many times when Naruto worried about him during their college days whenever she would show up to his dorm room after pulling an all-nighter writing his essay and ruining his sleeping schedule. He could almost hear Naruto clicking her tongue and reprimanding him for not doing their assignments early.

As the people made their way towards the front gates of the station, Shikamaru noticed the restricted signs on the right side and tugged at Tsukiko’s hand, pulling her aside.

Lee was curious at what Tsukiko’s father was doing and debated following him but he heard Sakura hiss through her teeth as pain shot up her leg. Right, he needed to take her to an infirmary.

Noticing that they had separated from the group, Tsukiko halted in her steps and snatched her hand back from her dad.

“What are you doing, Tsukiko? Come on!” Shikamaru asked once he felt his daughter slip through his grasp and turned around to face her with an almost delirious look on his face.

“Where are we going?” Tsukiko asked her father challengingly.

Shikamaru rubbed a hand down his face before scanning the area for any wandering people who might eavesdrop on what he was about to say next, “We’re going this way.”

“Just us?”

“Yes. Now let’s go!” Shikamaru didn’t mean to snap at his daughter but he didn’t want to be late to Chouji’s men who were waiting for them nor did he want to grab people’s attention and have them following both him and Tsukiko.

Shikamaru went to grab Tsukiko’s hand but stopped once he spotted a homeless man standing just a few feet away from his daughter.

“What is it?”

The homeless man stepped closer and pointed at the direction Shikamaru was heading to, “I’m going this way too.”

“Main square is that way, just follow the others.” Shikamaru could feel the anticipation building up as alarm bells went off in his head.

“I’m coming with you. I heard your phone call.”

Shikamaru’s heart skipped a bit at the revelation.

“I know you have someone waiting for you and I want to come with you.”

Shikamaru stole a quick glance at Tsukiko.

“I know the others will be quarantined.”

Tsukiko’s head shot up at her dad in shock. Ashamed, Shikamaru looked away.

“I’ll go tell the others.”

Just as Tsukiko was about to head and warn people, Shikamaru roughly pulled her back.

“Tsukiko, you don’t have to-”

“Yes I do!”

Shikamaru was taken aback at Tsukiko’s outburst. Not used to seeing his daughter being angry at him before.

“Honey,” Shikamaru tried again, “Forget them. We should only care about ourselves. Remember what I told you back on the train.”

Shikamaru did not like the look on Tsukiko’s face.

“Daddy, you only care about yourself.” His daughter stated solemnly, “That’s why mommy left!”

Shikamaru could feel his heart ache at his daughter’s whimpers and at the tears collecting at the corner of her eyes. He was aware of his nature but he only did it to provide for his family. He sacrificed so much so that Naruto and Tsukiko could live a comfortable life. He thought Tsukiko understood this.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something, anything, but the homeless man began yelling and waving before running off.

Panicked, Shikamaru shoved the fox shaped backpack into his daughter’s hands, “Tsukiko, stay right there.” Before running after the homeless man.

Never in his life was Shikamaru thankful for having extremely long legs as he ran after the homeless man who was waving at a staggering man at the end of the hall.

“You can let go of me.” Sakura stated, still in Lee’s arms.

“Nah.” Lee looked down at his wife, “I like having you like this.”

The taller of the two chuckled as Sakura blushed a beet red and muttered  _ stupid _ under her breath.

But his laughter died down when he spotted a bloodied shield on the staircase next to them. His thick eyebrows furrowed forward and he directed his eyes to the end of the escalators, not liking the sudden shift in atmosphere.

As they grew nearer to the end, Lee could barely spot movements near the gates. His hold on Sakura instinctively tightened around her.

“Shit!”

One of the soldiers spun around and Lee quickly recognized the pale sunken eyes and blood covered mouth. More of the soldiers turned around and rushed towards the escalators, attacking the first person insight.

“Damn it.” Lee muttered before safely, but hurriedly, placing Sakura on the staircase before jumping after her and carrying her in his arms again, ignoring Sakura’s scream of surprise as he bolted up the stairs.

The sounds of intense fear and growling made Lee run up the stairs faster than ever, muttering for Sakura not to look back like a broken mantra.

Surprised by the sudden outbreak, Neji grabbed Tenten’s arm and pushed her up the stairs, “Go, run!”

They almost ran straight into the train conductor but thanks to Tenten’s fast instincts, they pushed him aside and ran past them. “Run!!”

Feeling the vibration against his leg, Shikamaru fumbled to pull out his phone as he blindly answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Shikamaru!”

Shikamaru was shocked to hear Chouji’s frantic yell.

“I’m in at the town.” He stated as he watched the homeless man stagger to the man at the end of the hall, cursing in his head.

“Is everything okay there? I can’t contact my men!”

“What?” 

As if the world was set in slow-motion, Shikamaru watched as the soldier at the end of the hall limped towards the homeless man as they got closer.

“Help me.” The soldier whispered, seemingly unaware of the open gash wound at the side of his head.

And not a second later, he was tackled down by another soldier who came out of nowhere. Growling just like those monsters back on the train.

The homeless man screamed in horror before turning around and making a run for it.

Realizing the situation they were in, Shikamaru turned to Tsukiko. His eyes widened at the people running and screaming for their lives as they were being chased by the zombies.

“Run!”

He heard the homeless man yell behind him followed by what sounded like a stampede. On command, Shikamaru’s legs picked up their pace and ran towards Tsukiko.

He faltered in his steps when a zombie strayed from the chase and went straight for Tsukiko, his mouth open wide and blood dripping down his chin.

And just as the zombie jumped to attack Tsukiko, who turned around at the growling coming from behind, an elbow was shoved straight into the zombie’s jaw and successfully pushed him away.

Lee nodded down at Tsukiko before attacking another zombie who was chasing a young woman.

“Tsukiko!” Sakura yelled in fright before grabbing onto her arm and pulling her along.

“Your ankle!”

Sakura shook her head before making her way to the door.

“Come on, hurry!” Neji yelled at the remaining people who were so close yet so far away from the doors. Teten jumped in anticipation beside him.

Shikamaru followed Lee’s wife but was suddenly tackled down by the zombie. Its foul stench invaded his nostrils and he had trouble breathing as the creature wiggled above him, jaws chomping down at him.

Shikamaru struggled to shove the zombie off, being careful not to get his hand bitten, but the zombie was heavier than it looked.

He spotted a thick book in his peripheral vision and took a hold of it before shoving it into the zombie’s mouth.

When Sakura and Tsukiko made it through the doors, a high school student pulled them aside.

“Tenten, take them back to the train. Go!” Neji yelled as he ushered more people with the help of others.

“But-”

“Go! I’ll be fine!”

Hesitant, Tenten nodded her head before holding onto the pregnant woman and child, “This way!”

Lee watched as Sakura followed the high schooler with Tsukiko, thankful they had gotten away. He picked up his pace to the door and held onto it to push it close.

Seeing what the tall stranger was doing, Neji followed along.

“Shit.” Neji heard the man mutter above him. Noticing the younger, Lee turned to face him and nodded his head, “Hey.” He said, as if there wasn’t a herd of zombies rushing towards them.

Neji dumbly nodded back, “Hi.”

The zombie was still on top of Shikamaru and his arms were beginning to tire. Still, Shouta tried with all his might to shove him. He couldn’t die and leave Tsukiko alone and unprotected.

Just as the zombie snatched the book from his hand, a heavy coat was thrown on it and the zombie screeched while getting off. Relief washed over Shikamaru before he quickly got up and followed the homeless man that was waiting for him at the door.

“Hurry!” Lee yelled at the homeless man and was about to close the door when he spotted Tsukiko’s father running towards them.

A stray thought popped into his head of closing the door in Shikamaru’s face, payback for closing the door on him and Sakura earlier on the train. But he knew that if he did that, he could never face Tsukiko and Sakura would never forgive him.

“Hurry, you bloodsucker!”

Shikamaru nodded his head and ran with all his might, barely making it through the doors. Narrowly escaping the zombie’s hands.

“You’re one crazy fucker!” Lee shouted when Tsukiko’s dad was safely inside.

Shikamaru didn’t say anything as he greedily inhaled air into his lungs, “The…door.”

Neji shoved the door shut while Lee struggled to switch the lock located at the top. The zombies were pushing against the door, making it difficult to lock it.

Outside of the window, Sakura could easily spot the people running towards the wrong cart and she wanted to scream for them  _ to turn back _ but it was too late. They pulled open the door of the cart and more zombies toppled out of the train.

Cursing, she followed the high schooler but almost tumbled down.

Hearing the commotion, Tenten turned around. “Can you walk?”

Sakura shook her head.

Opening and closing her hands in anticipation, Tenten looked at the girl, “Are you hurt?”

At the shake of the girl’s head, Tenten let go of her hand before hooking one arm on the pregnant woman’s leg and the other across her waist.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Sakura shrieked as she was being carried bridal style.

“Saving your ass!” Tenten then looked down at the girl, “Grab onto my jacket and run!”

Once the boy nodded his head and did as told, Tenten ran and followed the others to the train. Bypassing fallen people and checking the boy every once in a while. She ignored the pang of guilt at the people being attacked by zombies but if Tenten doesn’t hurry up, that could be them in a couple of seconds.

A sudden shattering of the window above had a large number of zombies spilling out, like a never ending waterfall, landing on the train rooftop.

One of the zombies was between two fallen elderly women just a few feet ahead.

“Fuck.”

Noticing the two women from before, Tsukiko let go of the stranger’s jacket.

“Tsukiko!”

She ignored Sakura’s scream as he held the elderly woman and struggled to pull her up, “We have to go!”

“M-my sister!”

“Please!”

Turning to face the girl whom she recognized, she nodded her head numbly before forcing herself to stand up.

“Get in!” Tenten screamed when she was nearby and watched the elder woman and the girl, Tsukiko, jump into the train before jumping in after them.

She let out a sigh of relief as she gently placed the woman in a sitting position.

“My sister.”

Tenten inwardly cursed her kind hearted nature before jumping off the train, pulling Neji’s baseball from her backpack and taking a swing at the zombie before grabbing onto the older woman and pulling her up to her feet.

“Follow me!” She yelled at the woman before running until she found an open door and pulled the woman up before jumping in.

Just as Tenten and the elderly woman barely made it onto the train, Tenten’s leg was held by a grimy looking hand. It was the homeless guy and he was begging to be pulled back up. Tenten groaned and quickly pulled him in, closing the door behind her.

The car was filled with nothing but heavy panting from those who ran from the train station back to the train. A loud bang against the window caused them to jump in fear at the hoard of zombies banging on the train door, trying to get in.

“What are you waiting for?” A greying haired man in a business suit shouted at the train conductor, “Start moving!”

Tenten stared at the two with wide eyes, “No!” She shook her head quickly, her eyes filled with unshed tears, “My friend isn’t here yet!”

The man scowled and pushed Tenten away, “Who gives a fuck about your shitty friend?!” his voice boomed, “People will  _ die _ if we wait a second longer!”

The conductor gave Tenten an apologetic look before speaking into the walkie talkie to alert the captain for their departure.

Tenten could feel rage bubbling inside of her and she would’ve punched both the stupid conductor and the dumb businessman had it not been for the elderly woman holding her back with a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t.” Her voice was soft, a single shake of her head.

And like that, the cheerleader deflated. However, she bit his lip in worry and prayed for any kind of luck that Neji would somehow end up on the train…if they survived the outbreak at the train station that is.

Back at the train station, Shikamaru, Lee and Neji were still trying to hold the door off as Lee tried to lock the doors but was facing difficulties with his sweaty hands. And just as the doors were about to be pushed open, Lee managed to finally lock the doors.

The trio took a step back and admired the grotesque image before them but were quickly snapped out at the long crack that appeared on the door before it manifested into a web of cracks. Not wanting to be around when the glass shattered and the zombies flooded through, the trio ran to their train. And just as they left, they could loudly hear the glass door as it shattered and the zombies’ footsteps filling the hall.

They picked up their pace but they were distracted by the train leaving the station. They all inwardly cursed before they increased their speed going down the stairs and followed a few of the survivors.

Just as the small group of people in front of them stepped down the last step of the stairs, they were tackled down. Neji almost faltered in his steps at the brutality, torn apart between helping them or catching up to the train. He held onto his bat tightly, ready to fight but the man in the fancy business suit shook him, “Snap out of it, stupid!” and pulled him towards the moving train.

Neji’s legs were wobbly and he felt nauseous at the idea of leaving those people behind. But the man in the business suit didn’t stop running and soon Neji found himself being shoved onto the train, “Jump!”

When Neji was in, he dropped the bat and held his hand out for the other man, his other hand holding onto the door tightly so as to not fall off the train.

“Hold my hand!” He shouted.

The man struggled, his fingers barely brushing with Neji, before he held it firmly and he was pulled in. The weight made Neji drop heavily on his ass and he watched in a haze as the man dressed in a suit held onto the door while leaning his upper body outwards and stretched his hand out, “Give me your hand!”

Lee had staggered behind despite having extremely long legs. He was dogging zombies left and right while trying to keep up with the two strangers.

As Lee was about to grab onto Tsukiko’s dad, he spotted a zombie running towards him. Looking down, he spotted an iron rod lying by the bench. Snatching it, Lee ran faster and took a swing at the zombie, knocking its jaw off before spotting another and knocking it to the ground. He dropped the iron rod and held tightly onto Tsukiko’s dad’s hand and jumped into the train, the door closing behind him.

“Thanks, Tsukiko’s dad.” Lee panted while sliding down to take a seat and catch his breath.

“Shikamaru.” Lee looked at Tsukiko’s dad who was bent forward and had his hands on his knees, greedily inhaling air into his lungs, “M-my name is Shikamaru.”

Lee managed to crack a smile, “Rock Lee.”

“I’m Neji.”

The two adults turned to face the teen in the baseball outfit before chuckling at him in amusement, “Nice to meet you, kid.” Shikamaru greeted once his breathing had returned to normal.

“You’re a baseball player?”

Neji turned to face Lee, “Yes.” He said meekly, “Are you too?”

“Nah, I’m a pro wrestler.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part 2!
> 
> This chapter is completely different from the movie. I did my own take on how things would turn out when they are at the military base.

Back at the train station, Shikamaru, Lee and Neji were still trying to hold the door off as Lee tried to lock the doors. Unfortunately, he was facing difficulties with his sweaty hands, but just as the doors were about to be pushed open, Lee managed to lock them.

The trio took a step back and admired the grotesque image before them. They were quickly snapped back to reality at the long crack that appeared on the door, and they watched in horror as it manifested into a web of cracks. Not wanting to be around when the glass shattered and the zombies flooded through, the trio ran to their train. As they left, they could loudly hear the glass door shattering and the running of the zombies filling the hall.

They picked up their pace but were distracted by the train leaving the station. They all inwardly cursed before they increased their speed, going down the stairs and following a few of the survivors.

The small group of people in front of them stepped down the last step of the stairs. They were tackled down. Neji almost faltered in his steps at the brutality, torn apart between helping them or catching up to the train. He held onto his bat tightly, ready to fight but the man in the fancy business suit shook him, “Snap out of it, stupid!” and pulled him towards the moving train.

Neji’s legs were wobbly and he felt nauseous at the idea of leaving those people behind. But the man in the business suit didn’t stop running and soon Neji found himself being shoved onto the train, “Jump in!”

When Neji was in, he dropped the bat and held his hand out for the man, his other hand holding onto the door tightly so as to not fall off the train.

“Hold my hand!” He shouted.

The man struggled, his fingers barely brushing with Neji, before he held it firmly and he was pulled in. The weight made Neji drop heavily on his ass and he watched in a haze as the man in the suit held onto the door while leaning his upper body outwards and stretched his hand out, “Give me your hand!”

Lee had staggered behind despite being a fast runner. He was dogging zombies left and right while trying to keep up with the two strangers.

As Lee was about to grab onto Tsukiko's dad, he spotted a zombie running towards him. Looking down, he spotted an iron rod lying by the bench. Snatching it, Lee ran faster and took a swing at the zombie. Easily, he knocked its jaw off before taking another swing and knocking it to the ground. He dropped the iron rod and held tightly onto Tsukiko’s dad’s hand and jumped into the train, the door closing behind him.

“Thanks, Tsukiko’s dad.” Yukhei panted while sliding down to take a seat and catch his breath.

“Shikamaru.” Lee looked at Tsukiko’s dad who was bent forward and had his hands on his knees, greedily inhaling air into his lungs, “M-my name is Shikamaru.”

Lee managed to crack a smile, “Rock Lee. But everyone calls me Lee.”

“I’m Neji.”

The two adults turned to face the teen in the baseball uniform before chuckling at him in amusement, “Nice to meet you, kid.” Shikamaru greeted once his breathing had returned to normal.

Sakura was restless. Her stomach churned as she watched the trees whiz by, feeling the restlessness of her baby. They’ve left the station about five minutes ago and she has no idea if her husband managed to escape the hoard of zombies and board onto the train or- Sakura didn’t dare to think about the second possibility. Doubt began to fill her mind, and she felt her phone buzzing in her dress pocket that she had somehow forgotten about.

Quickly, Sakura fished out her phone with shaky fingers, relief washing over her at the display of her husband’s name and picture. Just as she was about to slide to answer the call, dirty hands tightly grabbed onto hers and prevented her from doing so. Ready to yell, Sakura was surprised to see the heavy look of concentration on the homeless man’s face as he held his index finger to his chapped lips and nodded towards the compartment on their right.

The glass door was shattered and blood painted some of the glass fallen onto the metal floor. Listening closely, Sakura’s stomach dropped at the low growls and groans that she was all too familiar with. There were zombies. There were zombies only a few short distance from them and based on the people consisting of their little group, she knew that they stood no chance to face them and live.

An open bathroom door caught Sakura’s attention so she slowly crept towards it, praying that she wouldn’t accidentally make any noise that would jeopardize them. Once she was sure that the bathroom was empty, she turned to face her small group and gestured for them to follow her. Tsukiko was the first to grab onto her sweaty hand and she quickly shoved her in, then there was the elderly woman that Tenten had saved and just as Sakura was about to follow the homeless man, she almost screamed at the zombie that was hovering behind her before it launched itself, but Sakura was faster and she instantly slid the door shut almost all the way through had it not been for the zombie shoving its head in, preventing the door from fully closing.

Unfortunately, the loud commotion attracted the other zombies and they were soon swarming the bathroom door, trying to get their bloody hands on them.

A small group of people were obstructing the view from the other compartment by spraying the fire extinguisher on the glass door while Tenten tried to call Neji. But before she could hit the call button, the train conductor made an announcement that they will not be making any stops until they’ve reached Uzushiogakure, their final destination.

Tenten watched in distaste as the heartless businessman from earlier jumped up from his seat and stole the walkie talkie from the attendant and demanded to know the status of Uzushiogakure, whether if the city was safe or not. Tenten sighed in frustration at the hesitant answer from the conductor and the lack of communication from Uzushiogakure. She shoved her sweaty fingers through her hair ready to cry over her situation when her phone suddenly rang, startling the other passengers.

“Neji Hyuga, where the fuck are you?!” Her breathing increased, her heart beating wildly, “You fucking asshole, I thought you were dead!” Tenten didn’t mean to cry but she was so emotional over her best friend (and crush)’s absence and was frustrated that she couldn’t go find him because of the heartless businessman who demanded they leave the train station before Neji could join them.

“I’m sorry!” Neji crying on the other end didn’t really calm Tenten but knowing that he was alive,  _ that he was talking to her _ , did. “I’m sorry!” 

Tenten’s cries subsided, surprised at Neji’s open display of emotions. In all the years she had known Neji, Tenten had never seen nor heard him cry. Not even when they lost one of their biggest games last year. It broke Tenten’s heart.

“Prodige,” Tenten’s voice was small and soft, “Don’t cry, I’m not mad.” She could hear Neji sniffle and a small smile crept its way on her dry lips, “I was just scared.”

It was quiet for a moment, and Tenten wondered if her phone died before she heard Neji’s faint voice, “Are you hurt?”

Tenten shook her head, “No.” he replied, smile on full display at the wonders Neji’s voice was doing to her nerves, “Are you on the train?”

“Yes.”

Instant relief washed over Tenten and she silently thanked whoever was listening for keeping her best friend alive. Just as she was about to tell him how happy she was and that she will see him once they get to Uzushiogakure, Tenten was interrupted by a loud shout in the background on Neji’s end.

" _ Is that my daughter?!” _

Seeing Neji crying into the phone talking to, who Shikamaru assumed was the space bun-ed teen he had briefly seen on the escalator back at the station, made his heart ache. It heavily reminded him of Naruto and he couldn’t stop himself from wondering about his ex-wife’s whereabouts or if she was even alive at this point. He doesn’t think that he’ll ever forgive himself if Naruto died. He doesn’t know how he will face himself or Tsukiko. Losing his mother was bad enough, but losing Naruto?

_ We’re sorry, we are unable to connect your call. Ple- _

Shikamaru silently cursed at the automated message. He had tried calling Tsukiko ten times in the past five minutes and the fact that his daughter was not answering frightened him to no end.

“Honey?” Shikamaru could hear the relief in Lee’s voice and was curious at the way the tall man suddenly frowned before turning to face him.

Inching closer, Shikamaru could hear faint yells coming from Lee’s phone and his heart stopped beating once he realized that it was Tsukiko crying for help.

“Is that my daughter?!” Shikamaru crossed the short distance in less than a second, “Is she with her?”

Lee nodded as he stepped closer to him, almost pressing into him as they both listened to Sakura and Tsukiko’s screams for help.

“Tsukiko, calm down. Tell me where you are?” Shikamaru wanted to steal the phone from Lee and talk to his daughter but stopped himself as he heard Tsukiko telling Lee that they were stuck in the bathroom, unable to answer Lee’s question on the exact compartment they were in.

“Car 13!” Sakura screamed, “It’s car 13, you dumbass!” Lee jumped at the sudden shout, “Get your ass over here!” and the line ended.

“Sakura?” Lee called, “Baby?” he held his phone out, cursing at the black screen.

“We need to save them.” Lee stared into Shikamaru’s panic yet determined filled eyes and nodded. The two adults then turned to face Neji, who was hunched forward with his hands clutched to his head, silently thanking God that his friend was alive.

“Get up, kid.” Neji looked confused as he stared at the both of them, “We’re going to save my wife and Shikamaru’s daughter.” Glancing at the other tall man, Neji nodded quickly before pocketing his phone and picking up his bloodied baseball bat.

Making their way to car 13 wasn’t easy.

After coming up with a plan and wrapping their arms in safety sleeves that Neji carried around in his backpack for their tournament, the trio began their almost suicidal rescue mission with Lee being in the front, Shikamaru in the middle and Neji at the end of their makeshift line.

The first car they had stepped into wasn’t filled with a lot of zombies so it didn’t take them a lot of time to fight their way through. However, it was in the second car when things got complicated. The car was filled with Neji’s now turned zombie baseball team. The two adults watched as the teen hesitated, his shoulders shaking and his knees almost buckling at the sight of his former undead classmates.

Neji’s eyes filled with tears as he watched Kiba, Tenten’s close friend, turned to face him. Chin dripped with blood, eyes as white as ice and clothes torn apart.

Right as he was about to lift his bat, encouraging himself to take a swing, Lee held onto his shoulder and pushed him backward.

Neji felt grateful that he didn’t have to attack any of his undead teammates but he almost retched at the way Lee punched and kicked them one by one.

Neji was frozen in place. Watching Shikamaru and Lee being surrounded by his friends, his hand barely holding onto the bat as he contemplated what he should do. He couldn’t hurt his friends. Even if they were dangerous and they could kill the three of them, Neji just couldn’t do it.

“They need our help!” Shikamaru’s scream fell on deaf ears.

“Neji!”

The teen shut his eyes at the cry of his names. He couldn’t do it. He won’t do it.

“I’m going to be a father!”

As if Lee’s words were a magic spell, Neji opened his eyes and gripped his bat tighter, ready to take a swing when they were engulfed in darkness as they went through a tunnel.

In the end, they managed to escape the compartment without killing any of Neji’s friends by rolling one of the fallen baseballs across the floor and the zombies following after the sound it made.

Realizing that the zombies were attracted to sound, Shikamaru had inserted Lee’s number into his phone before taking the other’s phone and walking into the car as soon as they went through another tunnel. Hiding between the seats, Shikamaru slid Lee’s phone across the floor into the previous car and hit the call button. Instantly, the zombies ran towards the phone once the ringtone reached their ears. The trio quietly made their way further into the other car without having to fight their way.

Making sure that the door was closed, Lee crept his way to the bathroom in car 13 and slowly opened the door.

Sakura and Lee said nothing as the two stared at each other. Lee then offered a cheeky smile at his wife before it was replaced with a hiss at the punch he had received from Sakura.

“You asshole!” Lee barely caught Sakura as she threw herself into his arms, crying against his neck, not minding Shikamaru shoving them aside to lean in and carry Tsukiko into his arms. The little girl cried into her father’s arms, in a similar position as Sakura.

Shikamaru possessively held onto Tsukiko as he cooed soothing words into her ears, kissing her forehead in between.

“Are we safe?” The elderly woman asked while stepping out of the bathroom with the homeless man.

Lee nodded, “They’re in the other car and we have the doors locked.” He said, body swaying sideways to calm down his crying wife.

Thankfully, the other car was empty as the small groups took their seats to try and collect themselves after what they had been through.

“Hey, you.” Shikamaru looked up from Tsukiko and into Lee’s playful eyes, “You owe me a new phone. I lost all my pictures of Sakura and I.”

Shikamaru snorted, “I would feel sorry for you if your ringtone wasn’t so tacky.”

Lee’s jaw slacked, scandalized at the criticism, “I think you meant  _ fancy _ !”

Shikamaru and Sakura chuckled, almost forgetting that they didn’t just escape twelve zombies just moments ago.

“Shikamaru?”

“Hmm?”

Shikamaru’s fingers were soothingly brushing Tsukiko’s hair when he heard Lee say, “You’re a great dad.” The sincerity in Lee’s voice threw Shikamaru off guard but he smiled nonetheless, “Thanks. You’re a wonderful husband.” The two shared a smile, silently agreeing that what they had just done was all because of love. Lee’s love for Sakura and his future child and Shikamaru’s love for Tsukiko. 

Tenten felt numb.

She was tired and she honestly was beginning to feel hopeless.

The teen was thankful that her best friend was alive and was on board the train but it didn’t stop her from thinking about their future. What will happen to them once they reach Uzushiogakure? Will they be greeted by an army of zombies or will the military be waiting for their arrival? And if it were the military, will they be quarantined or shot dead on the spot because they mistook them for zombies? Will they forever live in a zombie filled wor-

Tenten was startled out of her thoughts by the vibration of her phone against her leg.

_ Rescued more people. We’re on our way. _

Tenten pressed her phone against him, thankful for Neji’s message. Without thinking, she jumped from her seat, “My friend’s coming here!”

Slowly, the people faced her, “What?” one asked.

Tenten ran to the attendant with hopeful eyes, “My friend from another car is coming here!” she couldn’t control the excitement in her voice.

“Who’s coming?”

Tenten’s excitement vanished as she turned to face the heartless businessman, “My friend.” She answered hesitantly, “And other people he had rescued along the way.”

“Rescued?” The man scoffed, “From whichever car he was from all the way to ours without being bitten?”

Tenten’s mistake dawned on her too late as the man laughed humorously, “Without being infected?”

Suddenly, the man began to shout while punching his seat, “WITHOUT BEING INFECTED?”

Tenten didn’t dare stare into the man’s eyes as he turned to face her, “ARE YOU THAT DUMB?”

“Wha-what do you mean?” Tenten’s voice was small. She flinched as the man stood up, chuckling for some reason and pointing at the other passengers.

“Look at them. At times like these, no one has a fucking clue as to what happened to their families.” Tenten gulped thickly as she eyed the passengers who didn’t bother hiding the distaste they felt towards her, “We don’t even know if your bastard friend is infected or not!” The man’s yells were like slaps, “And you want to let them in here? With  _ us _ ?”

Tenten’s eyes scanned the individuals that were visibly shaken by the events they’ve been through. She then stared at the attendant, “Sir,” and the other man looked away but Tenten was still hopeful, “Please say something. They’ll be here soon.” Tenten’s stomach dropped from the lack of response.

“There’s only one more car separating us from the others.” Lee declared once everyone has regained their energy, “We’ll be going through a very long tunnel and I want you to stick close, not make _any_ sound and for the love of God, do **not** get bitten.”

The group braced themselves before slowly, and quietly, stepping into the darkened car, careful of their steps as they followed behind Lee.

It was Shikamaru who pointed at the overhead compartments for them to use to make their way across. Anxiety filled them as they carefully crawled their way across, all the way to the end. Shikamaru spotted a heavy duffle bag which he used to throw across the car to direct the zombies away from them while he gently brought Tsukiko, the elderly woman and the homeless man down.

And just as almost as everyone had made it through safely, lights flooded through the car and Shikamaru hurriedly shoved the homeless man away from him and ducked low between the seats.

In Shikamaru’s hands was Neji’s bloody baseball bat, eyes never looking away from the hissing zombie that was right above him, ready to swing. The homeless man was silently whimpering as he waited for the zombies to leave, wanting to escape as soon as possible.

After Shikamaru’s countdown, the homeless man stood up and was about to make his way towards the others when he accidentally stepped on an empty can of Coke.

And in the blink of an eye, the zombies were after them.

Lee hastily slid the door once Shikamaru and the homeless man were inside the other train but the door didn’t close fully as zombies shoved their heads in.

“Lee!” At Sakura’s sudden yell, Shikamaru halted in his run and cursed silently at the way Lee was struggling with the door.

With Neji busy trying to slide the car door open to where his friend was, he quickly sat Tsukiko on an empty seat and pulled the homeless man along.

“You’re going to help me!”

The homeless man’s protests died in his throat once they grew closer to Lee, somehow accepting his unknown fate, Sakura running past them with her injured foot to help Neji.

“Tenten!” Neji yelled, unaware of the fact that his best friend was held and restricted by the other passengers as they fearfully watched and listened to the commotions behind the foam covered door.

“Hurry and open the damn door!” Lee yelled once he spotted Neji struggling on the other side.

“I’m trying!”

Sakura shoved Neji aside and pulled against the handle with all her might as the other pulled out his phone to call Tenten.

If the doors weren’t covered in foam, he would’ve seen as the passengers tie the last shirt against the door handle while the attendant made sure that Tenten wouldn’t break through his hold. Nor would Neji be able to see how the heartless business man stomped onto Tenten’s phone, screen that was showing a picture of Neji striking a goofy pose, breaking in half. The man stomped and stomped until the phone was shattered.

“Open up. Tenten, please open up!” Neji was practically begging as he banged on the glass door.

Sakura threw a quick glance to where her husband was at, “ _ Fuck _ .” And cursed as Lee, Shikamaru and the homeless man struggled to close the damn door.

Shikamaru was swinging at the zombies while Lee yelled for Neji to hurry up. The homeless man was useless as he watched between Shikamaru hitting the zombies and Neji using a bat he picked up from his car with his team and bang against the door. It was then he knew what he had to do.

“Go!” The homeless man grabbed at Lee and pulled.

“What?”

“Go and help them! I’ll close the door!” The homeless man instructed while trying to push Lee aside.

“You can’t, you’re not strong enough.” Lee stated as the man finally pushed him aside and quickly took his position in trying to slide the door shut, “It’s my fault we’re in this mess.”

Lee was about to retort, saying that it wasn’t the man’s fault, but stopped at the look the man was giving him. His mind was made up.

“I’ll never forget this.” The homeless man gave a small smile as Lee ran to his wife, snatching the bat from Neji and ramming it against the glass.

“Hurry up!” Shikamaru screamed after knocking down another zombie while the homeless man struggled next to him. His dirty hands were slippery against the glass door so he moved one of them to the handle to firmly grasp it and push the door with all his might.

He was unaware of the zombie on the ground that spotted his hand before the undead woman growled and lunged at him, teeth sinking deeply into dirty flesh.

Startled, Shikamaru attacked the zombie in a rage until she let go of the homeless man. Glancing at the man, Shikamaru’s stomach sank at the realization of being in the same room as the homeless man.

“Go.” The man said firmly, as if having read Shikamaru’s thoughts, “You’ll all die if you don’t go and help them.”

Shikamaru hesitated before returning to where Tsukiko was sitting, throwing her a quick glance then stepping next to Lee and hitting the door with his own bat until it cracked.

Neji bolted through the short hallway that led to the other car just as the business man crossed the short distance to the door and quickly slid the door. But Neji was faster; he slid his arm through, blocking the door from closing and pushing at the man in front of him.

The passengers were in a frenzy as some of them went to aid the business man. Tenten bit down harshly onto the attendant’s hand, uncaring of the cry of pain he let out as she ran to the door.

“Neji!”

Tsukiko was crying as she silently watched Shikamaru and Lee fighting to prey the door open.

“I can’t hold on much longer!” The homeless man yelled from behind and seconds later, the glass door shattered.

Sakura snatched Tsukiko into her arms while the homeless man tried to give them time by fighting off the dozen zombies piling through the broken door.

Maybe it was the homeless man’s screams of anguish or the thought of the zombies getting to Tsukiko that gave Shikamaru an extra shot of strength through his system that allowed him to push the door open and let almost everyone in. In his haste, he had forgotten about the elderly woman and he was about to turn back for her as her sister cried her name when two zombies got a hold of her first. One of the passengers shoved past Shikamaru and slid the door shut.

It was quiet.

The death of the elderly woman weighing heavily upon them.

Shikamaru was shaking.

An old woman had died.

An old woman had died because of him.

The homeless man died because of him.

_ They died because of him. _

No, not because of him. It was because of…

No one could do anything as Shikamaru sharply turned and almost broke the business man’s jaw with a punch.

“Why the hell did you do that, you psychotic asshole?” Shikamaru was roughly shaking the man, eyes filled with an insane rage, “We could’ve saved them!” He choked on his words.

The heartless business man’s eyes shifted as Shikamaru shook him again, “He’s infected!” he yelled before shoving Shikamaru off of him, “He’s one of them!”

Shikamaru watched in disbelief as the business man tried to convince everyone that he was infected.

“Look at his eyes, he’ll soon turn like them!” The passengers all huddled next to the deranged man, “We should throw them out!”

From the corner of his eye, he could vaguely see Sakura with Tsukiko in her hands shuffling closer next to him along with the others.

The deranged business man shoved the attendant and almost had a sickening smile as he told Shikamaru and his group to exit the car. He heard one of the passengers from the back calling them monsters.

Defeated, Shikamaru turned and took Tsukiko from Sakura and made his way through the angry and frightened passengers. Lee was next to follow, with a limping Sakura holding onto him tightly.

Neji watched them as they went, unsure of what to do.

“You should stay here.” His arms were around Tenten as his eyes stared deeply into the other’s, “You’ll be safe.”

Tenten fervently shook her head, “No!” She almost choked on her words as she said, “Those people are  _ monsters _ . I’m coming with you.” Neji gave her a small smile, reaching his hand out to grab onto Tenten’s and leading her after the others.

Once they were all safely in the other car, a passenger in his late thirties sneered at them before shutting the door in their faces.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t watch as the sister of the now undead elderly woman got up from her seat and opened the door that held the zombies away from them. They did, however, hear their cries of anguish and the zombies’ growls.

Shikamaru covered Tsukiko’s ears and leaned his head against his daughter’s, Lee sitting at the front with Sakura, rubbing her injured foot and making sure there was no injury near or on her stomach while Tenten clung onto Neji, head pressed against his neck. They all had to sit in silence until the screams died down.

The train ride to Uzushiogakure was relatively quiet, save for the soft growls coming from the other car. Tsukiko was lying asleep on Shikamaru’s lap, unaware of the black clouds of smoke forming outside of the window.

Up in the front row, Shikamaru could see Lee leaning in and kissing his wife’s head every once in a while. His lips moving silently. Shikamaru assumed that he was whispering words of comfort to Sakura.

In the row next to them, two seats ahead, Neji and Tenten had their heads pressed together. Shikamaru couldn’t see it but the two had their fingers interlocked. That butterfly sensation filled his stomach whenever he saw the two together, strongly reminding him of his ex-wife.

Foolishly, Shikamaru fished out his, somehow, undamaged phone and called Naruto. The automated message that greeted him was no surprise.

“Was that mommy?”

Shikamaru looked down at his daughter. Tsukiko rubbed her sleepy eyes until she was fully awake, concern filling her eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Shikamaru smiled down at her, “Daddy will take you to mommy, no matter what, okay?” He knew that this isn’t the response Tsukiko was looking for but the younger accepted it nonetheless.

“Daddy?” Shikamaru hummed, indicating that he was listening, “Aren’t you scared?”

Shikamaru couldn’t help but chuckle as he lifted Tsukiko up and sat her on his lap, “Of course I’m scared.” He replied softly as he watched Tsukiko fiddle with her fingers, “But when I’m with you, I feel like I’m the strongest man in the world. Maybe as strong as mommy” Shikamaru lifted Tsukiko’s chin upwards and booped Tsukiko’s nose.

“I want to be strong too.” Tsukiko whispered.

“It’s ok to be scared.” Tsukiko looked up in surprise at her father, “Being scared can help you think. Help you make important decisions.”

“I was scared I’d never see you again.” Tsukiko confessed. Her eyes quickly filled with tears, “I thought those zombies would eat you and you’d be one of them and I’d be all alone.” She sobbed and Shikamaru instantly wrapped his arms around her to soothe her.

“But I had to be strong.” Tsukiko spoke once she had stopped crying, “Because I didn’t want Sakura to feel scared too.”

Shikamaru smiled at his daughter, “You were brave.” The smile Tsukiko returned made Shikamaru forget about the zombies growling softly in the other car.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, angel?” Tsukiko smiled briefly at the term of endearment before continuing, “Promise me that you won’t leave me, that you’ll always stay with me.”

It was a heavy promise and Shikamaru wasn’t sure it was one he could keep but he had to try, for Tsukiko, “I promise.”

Soon, the train came to a sudden stop and Lee, Shikamaru and Neji jumped up from their seats in surprise. They weren’t supposed to be in Uzushiogakure yet.

“Why did we stop?” Lee asked, to which Neji shrugged.

Shikamaru could feel Tsukiko holding on to his hand tightly as the train came to a complete stop.

“Attention all passengers!” Came the animatronic voice of the conductor, “Due to a blockage in the tracks, we had to stop at East Mountain Haze Station.”

Sakura chewed her lip, anxiety filling her as she remembered the incidents they faced at the last station they stopped in.

“Either we wait for a rescue team,” The conductor continued, “Or we travel to Uzushiogakure on another train.”

All the passengers shared worried glances with each other as a silent conversation passed between them. They had to make it on the other train no matter what.

“As soon as I’m done with the announcement, I’ll search for an operating train and put it on the left most track. I repeat.”

The group all geared up as the conductor repeated his announcement and shared one final look before exiting the train right after the announcement ended.

“We need to stick together.” Lee declared. Sakura, Neji and Tenten nodded their heads.

“In case we do split up,” Shikamaru spoke up, “We regroup at the other train.” Shikamaru takes his time staring at each individual, silently begging them to live.

“Ok.” Lee stepped forward and clasped his hand on Shikamaru’s shoulder, “Lead the way.”

It wasn’t easy to maneuver past trains as the undead banged on every window. Tsukiko shuffled closer to her dad and Lee’s hold on Sakura tightened. Neji pretended that he didn’t hear anything as he pulled Tenten along.

Unfortunately, the first to separate from the group were Neji and Tenten. They had just pointed at an empty train for them to cross between railroads when a burning train collided onto the same train Neji pointed at.

“Neji!” Lee shouted once he made sure that Sakura wasn’t injured.

“Lee?” Relief instantly washed over Lee at the sound of Neji’s distressed voice coming from the other side of the flipped train, “meet us at the other train!” Lee almost added,  _ don’t die!  _ But he refrained from doing so as he followed after Sakura, who went off to search for Shikamaru and Tsukiko.

“Follow me.” Tenten had pulled Neji off the ground onto another train, not bothering to check if there were any zombies in it.

Luckily, there wasn’t but the door on the other side was stuck and Tenten almost panicked as Neji struggled with the door, “Pull harder!” he cried out and then proceeded to pull on the handle with Sicheng.

“Do you still have my baseball?” Neji asked frantically, seemingly unaware of the item he mentioned sticking out of Tenten’s backpack.

“I do!” Tenten replied and then handed Neji his lucky bat back. She watched with wide eyes as Neji rammed the bat onto the glass window.

“What are you doing?”

“Breaking the glass,” Neji answered above the harsh pounds on the window, “It’s big enough for us to jump through.”

The two were so focused on the door that they didn’t hear the sound of footsteps coming from outside followed by loud growls.

It was only when Tenten shrieked in surprise that Neji looked away from the door to see that the heartless business man from the train had grabbed onto Tenten and was trying to throw her out of the train.

Neji was enraged. He lifted the bat and took a swing at the old man, “Let. Go. Of. HER!” He said between every swing. The growls grew closer and Neji became more desperate at the old man’s iron grip. Finally, the old man let go of Tenten with a pained cry after Neji successfully hit his fingers strong enough to break. Once Tenten was free, he shoved the man out of the train and hurriedly closed the door and locked it.

Neither of the two felt guilty or merciful as they watched the old man get eaten by five zombies, his yells falling on deaf ears.

“Thanks.” Tenten turned to face Neji, “You saved my li-” She couldn’t finish her sentence as Neji lunged forward and attached his chapped lips onto her very own dry ones. It was a rushed and sloppy kiss but it made Tenten dizzy once they broke apart.

“I love you.” Neji breathed heavily, “I would rather die than live in a world without you.”

Tenten smiled softly at the sudden confession, “I love you too, Neji.” And she cupped the other’s cheek before giving him a quick kiss.

They returned to the door and were able to break the glass window in seconds. Neji jumped out first, making sure that there were no zombies insight before calling for Tenten to jump.

“The train!” Tenten shouted after landing on her feet, “It’s leaving!”

“Daddy!”

Shikamaru’s eyes squinted, they felt heavy as he tried to pry them open.

“Get up!” he could vaguely hear someone calling out for him as he was being shaken.

“You promised you wouldn’t go!” Tsukiko’a cries turned clear once Shikamaru fully opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was his daughter’s crying face. The next thing was the train, that was supported by another train, on top of them. In the distance, he could hear Sakura and Lee calling out for them.

“In- ”his voice was dry and he had difficulties getting his words out. Forcefully swallowing to wet his extremely dry throat, he called out again. “In here! We’re in here!”

Shikamaru struggled to push himself up straight, cursing at the realization that they were in a cramped space. His body hunched forward as his hands reached out to dry Tsukiko’s face.

“We’ll try to get you out!” He heard Lee say in the distance.

Shikamaru’s eyes scanned the area for a way out. He jumped in surprise at the zombies banging on the windows in the train above them, shielding Tsukiko away from them in case they broke through. There had to be at least twenty of them, and for the first time during this whole mess had started, Shikamaru wasn’t sure that they would make it out alive.

Tsukiko whimpered as the train dangerously tilted towards them, denting the other train that was supporting it.

Shikamaru shushed Tsukiko soothingly as his eyes continued to scan their surroundings until they landed on a small opening under the train.

“Tsukiko,” Shikamaru gently pushed his daughter away from his body, “I want you to crawl under- no, listen to me.” His words were firm as Tsukiko shook her head in near hysterics, “You’re gonna crawl under that opening and go to Lee or Sakura. I’ll follow you right after.”

Tsukiko sniffled twice, “You promise?”

“I promise.” And Shikamaru kissed Tsukiko’s forehead then pushed his daughter towards the small opening. Once Tsukiko was out, he could hear Sakura calling for Lee.

“I got Tsukiko!” Shikamaru could hear Tsukiko telling Sakura about the opening for he then saw Lee’s well-toned arm sticking in, waiting for Shikamaru to grab on.

And right as Shikamaru was about to grab onto Lee, the train tilted forward, causing debris to cover his exit. Lee barely escaped from getting his hand and arm crushed.

“DADDY!” Tsukiko cried.

“Tsukiko!” Shikamaru cupped his hands to his mouth, “Don’t be scared, I promised I won’t leave you!” he could hear Lee shuffle from the other side as he tried to look for another opening for Shikamaru to crawl through.

The sudden cracks of glass coming from the far right shook Shikamaru to his core. He wiped his head to the source of sound and Shikamaru’s stomach dropped at the realization that he might have to break his promise to Tsukiko and disappoint his daughter yet again.

“Over here!” Following Lee’s voice, Shikamaru was thankful to see Lee waving his hand through a narrow opening on his left, “Hurry!”

Without being told twice, Shikamaru crawled to the other side and through the narrow opening. Had he been a second too late, he would’ve been attacked by the zombies that fell through the windows.

Lee helped Shikamaru up and embraced him in a quick hug, patting his back reassuringly.

Shikamaru then turned to Sakura and held the still crying Tsukiko, “Shh. There, there. I’m alive. See? I kept my promise.”

The train was almost out of the station but Neji and Tenten were so close. A loud commotion caused Tenten to turn her head sideways and was shocked by the sight before her, “Shit!”

Hearing Tenten’s distress, Neji turned to face whatever Tenten was looking at. There, in the distance, were Shikamaru with Tsukiko in his arms, Lee and Sakura running from at least twenty zombies.

“Fuck!”

The two continued towards the train and once they were close, Neji pulled Tenten in front of him and pushed her upwards. Once secured, Tenten reached her hand out and pulled Neji on board.

“Lee!”

The tall man squinted at the small two figures waving on board the train, “Hurry!”

Lee cursed at his speed. His long legs only helped him be far enough away from the zombies but not close to the train. Still, he continued to run as fast as he could as if his life depended on it. Which, in this case, it did.

Lee doesn’t know how but they were able to catch up with the train. Lee pulled Sakura in front of him and watched as Neji and Tenten pull her on board. He then faced Shikamaru, “Give me Tsukiko!”

Nodding, Shikamaru handed his daughter over and watched as Lee pushed her up into Sakura’s arms. “You’re next!” Lee yelled over the train’s loud engine and the zombies that were slowly gaining in on them.

Hesitant, Shikamaru allowed himself to be pulled by Lee and pushed on board the train, “Give me your hand!”

The scene was familiar. It happened in the exact same manner from earlier in the day when they were trying to jump on the train back at the other station. Only this time, they had an army of zombies on their tail and no weapon to fight them back.

It took Lee three times to grab onto Shikamaru’s hand, ignoring Sakura’s yells for him to hurry. Once his hand was secured around Shikamaru’s, he was pulled on board, leaving the zombies behind.

After making sure that everyone was unharmed, meaning that no one was scratched or bitten by the zombies, they all made their way into the only car connected to the cockpit. Leaving Tsukiko in Sakura’s hands, Shikamaru made his way towards the phone on the end of the car.

“Hello?” Came the normal voice of the train conductor.

“Is this train heading to Uzushiogakure?” Shikamaru asked without any greetings.

“Yes.”

Shiakamru nodded then proceeded to ask, “Is it safe there?”

There was a long pause from the other end before Shikamaru could hear the conductor’s reply, “I don’t know.” He sighed, “I tried contacting them but no one is answering.”

“Alright,” Shikamaru exhaled shakily, “Don’t stop the train.”

Right as Shikamaru was about to hang up, he heard the conductor hurriedly ask, “Are there any survivors with you?” the old man’s voice was hopeful.

“Yes,” Shikamaru replied as he directed his eyes to where Tsukiko was sharing gummy bears with Sakura. The older woman smiled down at the little girl while being wrapped in her husband’s arms, “We’re six in total.”

“Are there any zombies on the train?” The conductor continued to ask.

“No, it’s just us.”

“I was going to get a scholarship to Konohagakure University. We were on our way to the biggest match of the season.”

Shikamaru was unsure how long it had been since the train had left the station or when he had ended the call with the conductor. He’d check his phone but the batteries died. Judging on the sun’s position in the sky, Shikamaru assumed that it was probably around rnoon.

Lee turned to face Neji after making his random confession, an expression of despair on the teen’s handsome features. “We were going to be parents.” Lee said quietly, sharing a quick look with Sakura, “We were on our way to Uzushiogakure to visit family.”

Shikamaru could hear the fear in Lee’s voice. He felt sympathetic as he watched Sakura rub on her heavily pregnant stomach. With the way things were, it was difficult to know what was happening around the world. Loved ones could be dead or, if they were lucky, missing. Shikamaru had tried calling Naruto all morning and he tried with all his might to not think of the worst case scenario.

“I wanted to play archery.” Everyone turned to face Tenten, her head lowered and stray locks from her messy space buns covering her face, “But that was before I had a severe shoulder injury. Now, ” Neji slid his hand across the cushion seat, grasped Tenten’s hand and pulled it to his lips to lay a small kiss.

Shikamaru felt a sharp stab in his heart. The two reminded him so much of him and Naruto when they were in their teens. Naruto had just arrived in Konohagakure from Uzushiogakure when she bumped into him while looking for the supermarket. He can still remember how beautiful Naruto had looked, how breathless she made him. He was so entranced that he forgot to apologize and only stuttered a quick apology when the blonde waved her hand in front of him in concern.

“I was going to drop Tsukiko off at her mom’s.” Shikamaru answered quietly, “It’s her birthday today.” He ignored the sympathy that was being radiated from everyone else, “I tried calling but.” Shikamaru didn’t know that he was crying until he felt small hands wiping the tears that were rolling down his grime covered cheeks. Looking down at Tsukiko, Shikamaru regretted separating from Naruto.

“I’m sure she’s ok.” He heard Lee state quietly. Neither of them believed his words but Shikamaru was thankful that he said them.

What felt like minutes or hours later, the train came to a slow stop.

The current group of survivors were apprehensive as they waited for an announcement from the conductor.

“The track is blocked, I repeat, the track is blocked.” Dread filled within them, “The area appears safe so we’ll continue on our destination by foot. I will wait outside.”

Everyone glanced at each other, preparing themselves for what was waiting for them outside. “Just like in East Mountain Haze, stick together.” Lee said.

The group of survivors jumped off of the train moments later after scavenging the train for weapons, drinks and food. Sadly, they were only able to find two bottles of water and packets of salted peanuts. No weapon in sight save for Neji’s lucky baseball bat.

“The tracks seem barricaded.” And true to the conductor’s words, there were police barricades blocking entrance to the tunnel. Dead bodies littered around the barricades and Shikamaru felt Tsukiko pressing tighter against him. 

Lee nodded, “We’ll walk through. Stick together and don’t make any sound. Make sure you don’t touch anything.” And he led the way with Sakura leaning against him for support as she limped next to him.

Shikamaru picked Tsukiko up, ignoring the pain shooting through his arms in protest. Tenten and Neji followed close behind with the conductor not far off.

The tunnel reeked with the foul stench of decomposing bodies. An arm suddenly moving caused the group of survivors to jump in fright and to hurry down the tunnel, not wanting for whatever was below the rubble to come after them.

It was near the end of the tunnel that they walked past all of the dead bodies that Shikamaru deemed it safe enough to place Tsukiko back on the ground and walk next to her. Almost sighing in relief at the lack of pressure on his strained arms.

At the end of the tunnel, they were greeted by a makeshift military base surrounded by leaves and big cargo containers. The sound of Tsukiko sneezing caused the group to stop as they saw tiny red laser dots pointing at them.

“We’re not zombies!” The train conductor shouted as he ran past them and out into the open, waving his hands frantically, “We’re not infected! Please help us!”

One by one, they all exited the tunnel and stood next to the old man, waiting for the unknown.

A heartbeat later and they were surrounded by seven soldiers pointing their rifles at them. Their faces were painted in the all too known camouflage colors that matched their outfits and the leaves surrounding their base.

“Don’t shoot!” The conductor yelled.

“Shut the fuck up!” One of the soldiers screamed, almost deranged, “How did you find us?”

“We were on a train from Konoha to Uzushio!” The conductor replied quickly, fearing that the soldiers would shoot him if he didn’t provide them with an answer soon. “We lost people along the way and we had to switch trains to get here. I tried contacting the station in Uzushio but no one answered!”

Shikamaru could see how visibly the old man was shaking as he pleaded for his life.

One of the soldiers pressed a hand to his ear, nodding his head every once in a while, before addressing them, “Our lieutenant allowed you access. Follow us and don’t touch anything.”

The group of survivors were still surrounded by the soldiers as they followed them around the base and the large cargos. None of them expected the sight that awaited them behind the cargos.

Tents were set up all over and a makeshift watch tower could be spotted every couple of feet apart. More soldiers littered around as they watched the newcomers, fear swimming in their eyes and fingers itching to pull the trigger if one of them steps one foot out of line. It was a war zone.

“Our lieutenant said you’ll first have to be quarantined before we allow you any further access into the city.”

That made the group stop dead in their tracks, “What?” The conductor asked in confusion, “But I already told you we’re not inf-”

“I told you to shut the fuck up!” Suddenly, seven red dots were pointed at the frightened old man. Just waiting for him to fight back so they can shoot him dead and move on.

Tsukiko hid her face behind her father’s legs as all hell broke loose, the adults screaming to be let in while the soldiers threatened to shoot them if they did not cooperate.

One of them tried to pull Tsukiko aside but she was quickly lifted off the ground by her dad once she yelped in surprise and kicked the soldier.

“Don’t touch her!” Shikamaru seethed through clenched teeth, “Don’t you fucking touch her!”

In the midst of all the chaos, a figure pushed her way through until she was standing next to the soldiers. She had seen the group rounding the cargos and prepared a first aid kit to tend to their wounds when the sudden shouts made her pick up her pace.

Standing next to one of the soldiers, the woman could feel her eyes widen, “Shikamaru?”

At the sound of his name, Shikamaru turned to the direction it came from. His heart caught in his throat at the woman holding a first aid kit. “Naruto?” he breathed.

He only managed to take one step forward towards his ex-wife before one of the soldiers slammed the butt of his rifle onto Shikamaru’s side.

“Shikamaru!” Naruto screamed at the assault and dropped her kit to run towards her ex-husband and his daughter, Tsukiko, only to have arms wrapped around her waist and holding her back, “Let me go!”

The chaos returned as both Shikamaru and Naruto demanded to be let go while Tsukiko was crying loudly for her parents. Lee and Tenten were shoving away any of the soldiers coming at them.

“Let me go!” Naruto shouted, “Tsukiko!”

Tsukiko was clutching onto her dad’s ripped pants as she cried her heart out. Shikamaru ignored the throbbing pain and pushed away any of the soldiers trying to attack him, “Let go of my wife!”

“What is the meaning of this?!”

A commanding voice caused the chaos to halt. All fourteen heads turning to face the man dressed in a higher ranking military uniform as he marched his way towards them.

“Kakashi!” Naruto shouted before yanking her arm back and running towards the light brown haired man, “They won’t let them in!”

“Lieutenant!” One of the soldiers stepped forward, “The status of their health is unknown. They must be quarantined!”

The lieutenant, or Kakashi, held a hand up, “That’s enough. Step away from them.”

“But,”

Kakashi glared, “Are you defying my order?” The soldier shook his head.

“They can’t be quarantined.” Naruto had a pleading look on his face, “Please, they’re my family.”

Kakashi had an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, Naruto. But rules are rules and they need to be applied, no special treatments.”

Naruto chewed her lip, “But a week is too long. Please, Tsukiko is just a child!”

Shikamaru watched the exchange with apprehension written all over his face. He observed as Kakashi’s features turned into a look of contemplation before nodding his head once, “They’ll be quarantined for five days. Nothing more, and nothing less.”

“But,” The glare was directed towards Naruto but it was softer than the one directed at the soldier earlier, “No buts, Naruto. This is all that I can do.” Kakashi then turned to address his men, “Have Naruto and Ino tend to any of their wounds then take them back.”

Finally, the soldiers all stepped aside to allow Naruto access to Shikamaru and Tsukiko, “Mommy!” the little girl called as she ran to her mother, throwing herself into her mother’s arms.

“It’s okay, I’m here.” Naruto whispered as she soothed the crying girl, her hold tight around her neck, Narut’s eyes met with Shikamaru, “I’m here.”

Ino arrived at that moment, “Shikamaru?” she asked curiously at the tall figure who just nodded his head in return, “Are you the survivors?”

Before Shikamaru could answer, he was interrupted by Sakura gasping out in pain.

“Sakura?” Startled, Lee ran towards his wife and helped her stand on her feet. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I don’t know!” The pinkette panted, her hair matted to her forehead. Alarmed, Lee quickly followed Ino to a medical tent where more professional medical personnel were located.

Before Shikamaru could follow them and make sure they were okay, he was stopped by the call of his name.

“Shikamaru,” Shikamaru turned to face Kakashi, “I know you’ve made contact with Captain Chouji Akimichi.”

Naruto stared between the two, sensing the agitation radiating from Kakashi, “Any news from him?” She watched her ex-husband shake his head, “No, Kakashi-san. Last I spoke to him was back in Nikkō Inn Town when he called frantically about his men. I haven’t made contact since.”

Kakashi, their mutual friend (through Chouji) since college, nodded his head, “I was afraid so.”

“Is everything ok?” Shikamaru asked, in all the chaos he had been through, he forgot to call his best friend and check up on him, “Did something happen?”

There was a hesitant pause before Kakashi answered his question, “Last I heard he was evacuating the citizens at the Konoha borders before the line went dead.”

Shikamaru tried not to think of the worst case scenario as his stomach dropped in dread at the fate of his best friend Chouji.

“Mamiko,” Kakashi called sternly to where a nurse was conversing with one of the soldiers, “Help Naruto and see to their wounds.” Kakashi hesitated, eyeing his college friends and the newcomers, before adding, “If you find bite or scratch marks…” Kakashi didn’t have to finish his sentence, his command was understood. Mamiko nodded stiffly, separating herself from the soldier and making her way to Naruto, ignoring the look Kakashi was giving her.

The group of survivors weren’t allowed to clean up or change into freshly clean clothes. The soldiers wanted them to be tended to so that they can quickly rush them to the quarantine rooms.

Mamiko was tending to Lee and Sakura while a newcomer who went by Sai tended to Neji, Tenten and the train conductor. Naruto was currently tending to her family.

“Naruto,” Shikamaru called for the third time in the past five minutes.

“Not now,” His ex-wife replied as she searched his body for any bite or scratch marks, feeling slightly on edge at the apprehensiveness of the soldiers. They were waiting for their signal to shoot the group of survivors the minute Naruto discovered any injuries caused by the zombies.

Shikamaru sighed. He then placed his finger under Naruto’s chin and lifted it upwards, watching as the other’s eyes widened slightly at the contact, “I tried calling.” Shikamaru spoke softly, not wanting for anyone to listen in, “Why didn’t you answer?”

“I lost my phone when Mamiko came to get me. She received a call from Kakashi and we’ve been here since early this morning.” Naruto’s voice was just as quiet and Shikamaru wanted to ask more questions but his ex-wife got up onto her feet, dusting her pants.

“I’ll take you to…I’ll take you there now.”

It was around sunset when the group of survivors were led to the quarantine rooms. The rooms were made out of transparent glass that were as high as the cargo located up front. They were placed awkwardly in the center of the city as onlookers watched them be led to the rooms.

The rooms only had a glass door with a smaller slide door big enough for a cat to crawl in but Shikamaru heard Mamiko say that that’s how they’ll slide food to them. Judging by the apprehension on everyone’s faces, they were the first group of people to be placed in.

Naruto crouched down to meet Tsukiko at eye level, “Tsukiko, sweetie, stick close to your dad ok?”

Before Tsukiko could nod, she heard Kakashi clear his throat, “I’m sorry Naruto but she and Shikamaru have to be separated. You know the rules.” His words were final, ending Naruto’s protests. Mamiko looked at Lee and Sakura apologetically, allowing the couple to kiss before being separated. 

After saying goodbye to her parents, Tsukiko walked into the first quarantine room on the far left. Shikamaru shared one final look with Naruto before walking into the room next to Tsukiko. Lee walked into the room next to it and then Sakura walked into the last room in the first row. In the second row, Neji was in the first room, then Tenten in the next one and finally, the train conductor was in the second to last room.

“You’ll be let out after one week when no symptoms of transforming or the zombie virus spreads.” Kakashi spoke loudly as his soldiers locked the doors, “Good luck.” He said and walked off to one of the tents, Mamiko hot on his trail.

When the sun was fully set and the world around them was engulfed in complete darkness, save for the generated lights, did the soldiers allow them to eat their dinner. And Shikamaru was pleasantly surprised that Naruto had sat in front of their glass doors in front of them.

“What are you doing?” Shikamaru asked.

Naruto shrugged, “Having dinner with my family.” She answered as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

The food wasn’t much. Stolen canned food from supermarkets along with bottled waters. Naruto explained once their ration becomes low, they will scavenge for more while they switch to the military food packs. It’s their first night after the zombie outbreak and Shikamaru hoped that their rations wouldn’t run out before they were allowed to leave the quarantined rooms.

“Tsukiko…angel,” Shikamaru called out softly once he spotted Tsukiko struggling to keep her eyes open, her head jerking herself awake, “You should sleep.”

His daughter shook her head lethargically, “No, I want to stay awake…with you.” Her eyes shifted between her parents, fear clearly evident in her eyes.

“Your daddy’s right, Tsukiko.” Naruto spoke up, throwing a quick glance at Shikamaru, “You need to rest after the day you’ve been through. We’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Promise?”

Naruto gave her daughter a cheeky grin, “Believe it!”

It didn’t take long for Tsukiko to fall asleep after that. It was summer now so she didn’t really need a jacket or a blanket to keep her warm. Although, Naruto had begged the soldiers to at least give Tsukiko something to cover up with at night but they told her that they didn’t want anything to be infected by them. They couldn’t afford to burn anything.

“You called me your wife.”

Shikamaru lifted his gaze from his sleeping daughter’s form and landed them on Naruto, “Earlier today.” Naruto clarified at the look of confusion he received from Shikamaru.

Shikamaru swallowed thickly, “Guess I did.”

The night was filled with quiet murmurers from the other occupants of the quarantined rooms. The sound of boots scuffling against the street could be heard in the distance as the soldiers on night patrol kept on lookout for any of the lurking zombies. But with how barricaded they were, Shikamaru doubted they’d come in contact with one.

“I never signed the divorce papers.” Shikamaru blurted suddenly into the night air.

Naruto looked away from Tsukiko and gaped at her husband, “What?” Her voice almost shrieked, “But our lawyer told me you did!”

Shikamaru looked away sheepishly, “That’s because I told him too.” He didn’t dare to look at Naruto, not ready to see her reaction.

“Why?” he heard his technically still wife ask.

Shikamaru shrugged, “The divorce happened so suddenly and I guess I just wasn’t ready.”

“Shikamaru.” He didn’t look at his wife, “Shika.” Slowly, Shikamaru looked up from his bruised knuckles and stared deeply into Naruto’s eyes at the mention of his nickname, “I didn’t want us to get a divorce.”

Shikamaru opened his mouth to ask his wife why she filed for a divorce in the first place when Naruto held her hand up, “I didn’t care about the mistreatment I received from you. I didn’t care that you forgot my birthday or our anniversary. I didn’t care that you returned home late or missed our dates. But mistreating Tsukiko? After the troubles we went through to get pregnant with her? I had to draw the line.” Shikamaru’s heart ached at how broken Naruto sounded.

Suddenly, images of him forgetting Tsukiko’s birthdays and school plays flashed in his head, reminding him of his mistakes.

“I didn’t mean to.” Shikamaru whispered, unable to look at Naruto’s tear filled eyes, “I just didn’t want Tsukiko to grow up the same way...you did. Poor and paranoid over being evicted any day without notice. I didn’t want him to starve for days and only eat McDonald’s or ramen when we didn’t have enough money.” Shikamaru choked through his words, “I just wanted him to have a better life.”

Shikamaru didn’t care about the tears that were rolling down his cheeks as he pressed his hands on the glass that separated him from Naruto, “I’m so sorry, Naru-chan. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Naruto was crying now as she pressed her smaller hands against the glass that separated Shikamaru’s bigger ones, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” She repeated those words like a broken record. Touched, and unsurprised, behind Shikamaru’s workaholic nature. 

Shikamaru didn’t remember how he fell asleep but when he woke up, it was to the sight of Naruto lying uncomfortably on the other side of the glass wall.

“That’s disgusting.”

Sakura heard Lee gag as he tried to swallow down a spoonful of red beans. Sakura would’ve laughed at how comical Lee was acting had it not been for the current situation they were in.

“Be thankful you have something to eat.” Sakura muttered. She didn’t like beans either but she had to force herself to eat if she wanted to survive.

“How’s your ankle?” Lee asked in concern after managing to finish the can of uncooked beans, “Does it still hurt?”

Sakura looked down at her ankle and twisted it sideways, “It doesn’t hurt as much but I doubt it’ll heal any time soon.”

Lee chewed his lip, “Sakura, I’m so sorry. I know how much he wanted to be with your family during the birth. If I only hadn’t insisted on this trip.” He was surprised by the bright smile that appeared on his wife’s lips, “Lee, I don’t blame you at all. You haven’t seen your family in a very long time and you miss them. I would do the same if the roles were reversed.”

At Lee’s look of uncertainty, Sakura added, “Besides, a twisted ankle is nothing in the grand scheme of things.”

A peaceful silence surrounded them as the two continued to eat their measly dinner.

“Tsunade.”

Sakura looked up from her near empty can of red beans and into the eyes of her husband, “What?” She asked.

“Our baby.” Lee smiled, “If she’s a girl, let’s name her Tsunade.” 

Sakura could slowly feel the smile stretching across her lips. Tsunade was Sakura’s mentor in life and at the hospital. She was the only person who took her in when her parents had kicked her out, fed up with her anger issues and temper tantrums. And, at only sixteen years old, Sakura was taken under the blonde woman’s wings and was loved and cared for. She went from a moody teenager with anger issues to a well respected adult currently working at Konoha’s most prestigious hospitals. 

“And we’ll name him Gai if he’s a boy.”

The smile Lee flashed her was brighter than the fluorescent lights shining down on them.

“Do you think they’re alive?”

Neji looked up from his can of unbaked beans with mild disgust written on his face. He saw Tenten had already emptied her can and was lying on her back, her head laid on top of her arms.

“Who?” He asked.

Tenten didn’t look away from the starless sky as she replied, “Our family,” She closed his eyes, “Our friends.”

In the midst of trying to survive, Neji had not thought about his family, not even once. His mind was too preoccupied with trying to get to Tenten after they were separated on the train leaving Nikkō Inn Town Station. Guilt stabbed his heart for not thinking of his family, for being selfish about his and Tenten’s safety only.

“I don’t know.” He finally answered.

Neji heard shuffles from the other room and he lifted his head to see that Tenten was lying on her side, her dark brown eyes making contact with his own pale ones, “I think they’re alive.” She said in a voice that was barely above a whisper, “You know how my sisters are. They’re fighters and they’d make sure our families lived.”

Being childhood friends with Tenten, Neji was familiar with her sisters. One was an MMA fighter and the other was a weightlifter. Not only were they physically strong but mentally as well. The thought of the two girls meeting with his family and protecting them from zombies oddly comforted Neji.

“I think so too.”

Neither of them said anything else after that, too content on watching each other while everyone around them slowly fell asleep.

“How did you know,” Tenten spoke up well into the night, “that you love me?” She asked softly.

Neji’s ears burned at Tenten’s question, “It wasn’t when we first met because God knows you were annoying.” Hearing Tenten chuckle, it spread warmness through Neji’s body, “I think it was the summer before we went to high school? It happened gradually but when we went to China with your family and saw the twinkle in your eyes, I knew that I never wanted to stop seeing it.”

The smile that Tenten was displaying made Neji shyly look away, the heat spreading from his ears down to his neck, “What about you?”

Tenten hummed, “It was instant for me.” Neji rolled his eyes at her cliché answer, Tenten quickly continued, “No, I’m serious!” The laugh that bubbled through Tenten’s lips was like music to Neji’s ears.

“You were cute; I’m not going to lie but it was seeing how isolated you were that I wanted to be closer to you.”

“I wasn’t isolated.” Neji muttered and ignored Tenten’s snort, “I just didn’t fit in very well and I didn’t want to embarrass myself.”

It was difficult to move from a private and prestigious school to a public school after the death of his parents when he was barely eight years old. His uncle, who was his father’s older twin brother, didn’t really care about Neji and didn’t want to pay the expensive tuition fees. Neji had felt like an outcast when he transferred to the new school. He was so alone and scared. If it weren’t for Tenten introducing herself and dragging him to the baseball pit at recess, Neji would probably still be that scared loner to this day.

“By the way,” Neji stifled a yawn, the exhaustion from today’s events finally catching up to him, “I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you come up with Prodige?”

In all the years that Neji had known Tenten, he had never seen the other blush as much as she did at that moment, “Remember when I got sick that one time in freshman year and I couldn’t attend one of your games?” At Neji’s nod, Tenten continued, “Well, my mom recorded the game for me and I was re-watching it on the bus. When I saw you win, I just kind of cooed  _ what a prodigy  _ but I didn’t realize that I said it out loud until Kiba heard me and just teased me about it, he was the one to make it sound French though. The rest of the teammates liked the name but they didn’t know about the context behind it.”

Neji’s laugh stunned Tenten, it was a long and hearty laugh, “That’s just so you!” coming to her senses, Tenten joined in.

The next day was uneventful.

The soldiers hadn't spotted any zombies nearby and no survivors had stumbled through. Kakashi and his men made sure that the people in quarantines were fed and took notes on their every movement, “You survived your first night.” Kakashi commented, “Let’s hope you survive your first day.”

Mamiko had rolled her eyes at how passive aggressive Kakashi was acting. She understands that this was his job and that he had to protect the many survivors at their location, but Shikamaru and Naruto were their friends! They weren’t just anybody and she hated how they were being treated. It was difficult seeing them longing after each other behind glass walls and Mamiko tried speaking to Kakashi last night, explaining to him that the quarantine is useless since the zombie transformation was instant, but he wouldn’t listen.

“Mamiko,” She refused to look at Kakashi as she helped Sai carry canned tuna to the survivors while she carried a bag of water bottles. She didn’t see the hurt flashing in Kakashi’s eyes as she walked away.

“Do you think they’ll ever get together?” Shikamaru had asked on their second night as he, Naruto and Tsukiko ate another canned tuna. Apparently they ate the same canned food throughout the day before switching it to something different the next.

“Who, Mamiko and Kakashi?”

Shikamaru nodded his head. After his conversation with Naruto last night, the romance between them had somehow rekindled. It reminded Shikamaru of their honeymoon phase despite the glass walls that separated them.

“I don’t know.” Naruto chewed thoughtfully, “Kakashi really hurt Mamiko’s pride.”

The thing with Mamiko and Kakashi was complicated, to put it in nicer terms. Kakashi was offered a higher ranking position just six months into the military. Of course, that required for him to move into the headquarters at Uzushiogakure and limit his interactions with the civilian lifestyle. His relationship with Mamiko had just blossomed after pining after each throughout high school and college. And when Kakashi was made to choose between his love for Mamiko and his job, he went for the latter.

“I know,” Shikamaru said after gulping down half a bottle of water, “I just can’t stand seeing them like this.”

A sad smile played on Naruto’s lips, “That’s what he said about us too.”

Their second day being quarantined marked the third day of the zombie apocalypse and Sakura was getting restless. She couldn’t stop passing around the cramped space of the four walls.

“Did the outbreak happen worldwide? Is there any communication outside of Uzushiogakure? Are other nations sending help? Oh god, what if I give birth during quarantine!”

Lee felt the frustration slowly bubble up inside of him as he watched his restless wife. He yearned to have the fiery woman in his arms and comfort her with soft kisses but he sadly couldn’t.

Lee wasn’t going to lie and say that he didn’t share the same restlessness his wife was feeling but he knew that their hands were tied. Other than the fact that they were quarantined, Mamiko told them this morning that the Wi-Fi went down before they had arrived at their base. So even if they did charge their phones, there’s no way to make contact. The lines were dead as well, so really, they were basically lost.

“Sakura,” Lee tried to get Sakura’s attention but the other wasn’t listening. Soon, he could hear his wife gasping for air as she slowly slid down and began to cry.

“Sakura!” Lee quickly got up from the ground and made his way to the glass wall that separated him from his wife, “Baby, you have to calm down. Take deep breaths.” When that did nothing, Lee turned to face the door, “Help! Someone please help!”

But the soldier just gave them a long glance before walking away, unbothered by the way Sakura was crying.

Lee cursed loudly as he turned his attention to Sakura, “Sakura, sweetheart, please calm down.” He said hurriedly, “You don’t want to upset the baby, do you?” that somehow managed to go through Sakura as she slowly regulated her breathing. She was still crying but it was less frantic than it was a couple of minutes ago.

“I’m sorry, Lee.”

Lee sighed and pressed his head against the glass door, “No,” he shook his head, “I’m sorry.” He’s sorry that he couldn’t be next to his wife, to hold her and never let go.

On their fourth day, they were fed canned corn.

Tenten and Neji had their jackets discarded after watching Shikamaru and Lee removing their own shirts. It was summer and the heat was unbearable.

Tenten couldn’t stop her soft chuckles at the way Sakura and Naruto looked away shyly from their shirtless husband. She didn’t blame them though, She had the same effect on Neji as he stole glances at her being clad in her tank top.

“Fuck global warming.” He heard the other mutter, “This is all Danzo’s fault.”

Tenten blinked at Neji, “I’m pretty sure it’s also the other millionaires around the world’s fault.”

“I don’t care.” He then gulped down his bottle of water, “Summer wouldn’t be this hot if he just didn’t fuck up. I bet you this whole zombie apocalypse thing was his fault too.”

Tenten couldn’t argue with that. She could argue, however, that her boyfriend, or almost boyfriend, was getting antsy. It’s been four days since they’ve been quarantined and knowing how much Neji hated going this long without showering, Tenten could tell he was reaching his breaking point.

“Prodige,” Tenten pressed her hand against the glass wall and gestured for the other to do the same, “I’m sure they’ll let us out soon. You just need to wait a couple of more hours, I promise.”

Neji said nothing as he plopped down in front of Tenten and pressed his hand against the glass wall that separated them.

“You’re lucky you’re my girlfriend.” He muttered.

Tenten beamed at him, “Oh, so I’m your  _ girlfriend _ ?”

Neji groaned, “What else would you be, idiot?”

Tenten didn’t mind the way Sicheng spoke, used to how he was when being stressed, “I don’t know. Didn’t have time to think about it since I was too busy not getting eaten by zombies.”

“Har har har, you’re so funny.”

“I know,” Tenten had a shit eating grin as she said, “But you still love me.”

“Sadly.”

“Hey!”

Hatake Kakashi approached the quarantine rooms on the fifth day. Naruto was biting her nails as she stood next to Mamiko. Based on their observations, the group of survivors weren’t infected. Naruto is confident about this because she saw firsthand how instant those fuckers turned, starting with her mailman. She was lucky that she was able to use her broomstick behind her door to whack the zombie with it and take off to find Mamiko at the hospital around the block.

But Naruto worried because Kakashi’s men were on edge, they were fueled by the idea that anyone could turn at any sudden moment since the zombie apocalypse happened so abruptly, like a glitch in the universe.

“It’s your fifth day since you’ve been quarantined,” Kakashi began, “Based on my men’s observations, you don’t appear to be injected.”

Lee tried not to roll his eyes at the lieutenant. He understood that everyone was on edge and were a bit on the paranoid side but the zombies changed instantly. If they were infected, they would’ve turned minutes after being scratched or bitten, not five days later.

“Upon long and detailed discussions, I grant you access to leave the quarantined rooms.” Kakashi nodded at his men who came forward and unlocked the occupied rooms.

Naruto didn’t hesitate to run towards his daughter and lift her up in her arms, squeezing her small body tightly against hers, “I miss you.” She whispered against matted hair.

She could feel her body relaxing at the strong and familiar arms wrapping around her waist. Glancing up at Shikamaru, she smiled briefly at him, thankful that they were all alive together.

In the background, Neji quickly attached his lips against Tenten. He didn’t listen to Tenten’s complaints of his bad breath. They just started their romance and they had to be separated for five days, Neji missed him. And for once, didn’t really care about hygiene.

Mamiko watched as her friends and the other survivors embraced each other with elated smiles on their lips.

“You know I care about them, right?” She heard Kakashi ask softly behind her. Her body tensed as she nodded her head, “I know.” She replied just as softly.

Mamiko didn’t expect Kakashi’s hold on her shoulder would release all the tension from her body, “I care about you too. Always have.” The way Mamiko’s heart skipped a beat reminded her of her strong affections towards the lieutenant and how heartbroken she ended up being after putting her heart on her sleeves. She didn’t want to go through that again. It’s been a decade, but she still isn’t ready, “I know.”

Unfortunately, being in the middle of a zombie apocalypse meant that they had no basic access for an operating bathroom. However, the group of survivors managed to clean themselves up by lathering shampoo on their heads that were stolen from supermarkets before setting up base and dumping a bucketful of water that other survivors and soldiers had gathered from the river nearby.

They ate canned beans later that night and Tsukiko refused to fall asleep, too scared that something might happen, until her eyes finally gave up and closed on their own.

“What do you think will happen?” Shikamaru had just gently placed Tsukiko inside the sleeping bag when he heard Naruto’s quiet question.

“I don’t know.”

It wasn’t the answer either of them wanted but it was the honest one. No one knows what will happen to them tonight, tomorrow or even next week. All that they could do is wait and survive.

Shikamaru wasn’t sleepy, but he still laid on top of his sleeping bag, an arm supporting his head as he looked up at the dark blue tent. He felt Naruto’s hand slip into his and holding it tightly, Shikamaru’s heart squeezed at the warmth radiating from his wife.

“Promise me something, Naruto,” Naruto looked down at their entwined hands before trailing her eyes upwards and meeting with Shikamaru’s, her thumb drawing soothing circles on his dry skin, “Promise me you won’t leave me again.”

Naruto could feel her throat constricting as Shikamaru’s eyes welled up with tears and the hand in hers holding her in a vice grip, as if he was preventing her from any sudden movements.

Naruto nodded, scooching her body closer to her husband’s, “I promise,” She leaned in and pressed her lips heavily against Shikamaru’s, “I promise I won’t leave.” They shared another kiss. It was slow, long and passionate. Neither of the two minding the salty tears that made their way down to their lips.

“And I promise I won’t ever neglect you or Tsukiko ever again.” Shikamaru vowed after parting from the kiss. 

The future is unknown, it’s frightening and dangerous. But one thing is for sure, Naruto and Shikamaru, along with their daughter Tsukiko, are going to make it through. 

They were going to fight until the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are loved!

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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